Impulse
by Zetasigma
Summary: AU with canon themes/happenings as we go along. Begins in late 1979 and will progress through the "HP era." A series of impulsive decisions by Sirius leaves Harry raised by a different family. How will the repercussions of those events echo through the established narrative?
1. Chapter 1

_(A/N: I know that sometimes people have issues with introducing original characters in stories, and if you are one of them I guess I should say thanks for stopping by but that this might not be the story for you, as 2 O.C.s will play a major part. However, to me O.C.s are no different than taking a random name that was mentioned in passing in canon and assigning them personality in order to tell your particular story. Daphne Greengrass, Susan Bones, Amelia Bones . . . canon tells us almost nothing about them, yet wonderful fanfic authors have given them depth and purpose in their creations.)_

Saturday, November 3, 1979

Sirius Black was having one of the best birthdays ever. Lily Potter, wife of his best friend James, had decided to let them off the leash a bit, and so Sirius and James, along with their other best friends Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, had spent the entire day pub crawling through Muggle London, with Lily dutifully playing the role of chaperone for the four men who had collectively taken on the moniker of The Marauders. Sirius loved these men like brothers and Lily as a sister, and celebrating his 20th birthday with them by his side brought a continual smile to his face all day.

At the moment, however, his smile was due to the beautiful brunette who was sitting next to him at the bar. Through the haze of a day spent drinking, he had learned that her name was Cindy and that she was an American exchange student studying Law at University College London. She had initially come over to their (perhaps a bit too rowdy) group after hearing that he was named after a star (she had a keen interest in Astronomy) and had stuck around listening to Sirius tell the story of how all of the people in his family were named after stars or other astronomical phenomena. Through the course of the evening they had hit if off famously, the young woman more than a match for Sirius's charm and quick wit. All of the boys liked her instantly, as did Lily.

As the group started to break up for the evening, Lily hugged Sirius goodnight. "Don't screw this up, Padfoot," she whispered into his ear while giving him a kiss on the cheek. Sirius smiled at her and nodded, and suddenly Sirius and Cindy were alone at the bar.

"Can I offer to walk you back to your flat, Miss McClellan?" Sirius asked, turning on as much of the roguish charm as he could muster for his current level of intoxication.

Cindy just chuckled. "I think it would be safer if I got you home and to bed first; I'm not sure if you'd find your way otherwise." Sirius, however, had only heard "home" and "bed" and so leaped up out of his chair and paid the tab before offering his arm to her. She took it with a smile and she managed to keep him from stumbling too badly as they made their way to the small apartment Sirius rented in Islington.

After helping to haul Sirius up to the door of his third floor flat she laughed at him as he struggled to get his key into the lock of the door. Finally taking pity on him, she took it and opened the door, helping him into the hallway and closing the door behind them. She led him into his bedroom and, when he realized where they were, he turned to look at her, a silly smile on his face. An impulse struck him, and without warning he took her face in his hands and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. She returned the kiss softly, but when he reached to wrap his arms around her she pushed him away. His knees caught on the edge of his bad and he collapsed down onto it, his legs dangling off the side. The both started laughing as she knelt down and started working his boots off of his feet. After a moment, he managed to lift himself up onto his elbows and watched as Cindy finally got his second boot off, then smiled as she stood back up straight.

"A gentleman could get all sorts of ideas from a beautiful woman starting to undress him in his bedroom," Sirius stated, looked at her with more than a little interest. The taste of her lip balm still permeated his senses. Cindy, however, didn't miss a beat.

"Then it's fortunate that you, Sirius Black, are not a gentleman but a scoundrel," she replied with a chuckle. He flopped back down on the bed and moved his hands over his chest as if having been mortally struck.

"You wound me, miss," he said with a smile. "A palpable hit, right in my heart." His smile got bigger as he felt the weight on the bed change, felt her lithe form crawling over him, and then saw her face, framed by her curly tresses, looking directly down at him.

"Is that so?" she said teasingly from above him, before the same impulse that struck Sirius earlier hit her and her lips pressed against his urgently. As she started undoing the buttons of his shirt, she lifted her lips and whispered "Well, then let me kiss it and make it better," and no more words were spoken between them.

Saturday, December 8, 1979

The next month passed in a blissful haze for both Sirius and Cindy, caught up in each other and in their burgeoning relationship. When she wasn't in class and he wasn't off doing . . . whatever it was he did, they were together. Sirius re-introduced her to James and Lily and both liked her just as much sober as they had during their escapade the day they'd met. She got on famously with Lily, and the two women spent as much of their spare time as they could on the streets of Muggle London, sharing tea and shopping and stories. Lily had to temper her stories of their schooling because Cindy was a Muggle, but it was easy enough to play Hogwarts off as a secretive Scottish boarding school for the gifted or the exceptionally rich, which was not a lie but not entirely the truth. Cindy tried to get Lily to tell her more about Sirius's family, which he refused to talk about, but Lily kept firm, saying only that he and his family did not get on due to vastly different world views.

The second Saturday in December found Cindy at home after a day spent shopping for Christmas presents with Lily. The Englishwoman had seemed preoccupied about something but had said that she would let Cindy know what was going on very soon, once she'd had a chance to check on some things. As Cindy put the finishing touches on wrapping a present she had bought for her mother there was a knock on her door. Setting her work aside, she stood and answered it, smiling widely when she saw Sirius on the other side. His face, however, wore a pained expression, and she immediately wrapped him in a hug as she led him into the living room. He seemed almost catatonic as she sat him down on the sofa and straddled his lap, taking his face in her hands. "Sirius, what's wrong? Talk to me."

He looked up at her, and she could see tears forming in the corners of his eyes as his arms wrapped around her. "It's Regulus," he said simply.

"Your brother?" she asked. "What's happened?"

"He's . . . he's dead."

Cindy's hands went up to cover her mouth as she gasped. "Sirius, I'm so, so sorry. When? What happened?"

"I'm not sure when or how. It may have been weeks ago for all I know. I only know this much because Mother deemed fit to owl me, and she only knew because I guess Father happened to look at the tapestry."

"Sirius, what are you talking about? Owls? Tapestries?" Cindy asked, confused, and suddenly Sirius realized that, in his haze, he had revealed his greatest secret. Inspiration suddenly struck, and his usual impulsiveness took over. His countenance changed from sadness to resolve as he gently set Cindy on the couch and stood up.

"Cindy I have something I need to tell you. I've wanted to tell you since that first morning but there are rules that are supposed to be abided by. But you know what? Fuck the rules." Sirius knelt down in front of her and took her hands in his. "Cynthia Marie McClellan, I know we've only known each other for a short time but I love you. I'm sure of it. And I want there to be no secrets between us."

Cindy stared at the man in front of her, shock and confusion evident on her face. "Sirius Orion Black, I love you too. I'm sure of it. Please tell me what is going on. You're scaring me."

Sirius smiled at her declaration and kissed her lightly before standing back up. "Cindy, this is going to be difficult for you to accept at first, but I am a wizard."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "A what?"

Sirius pulled his wand from this pocket and, with a few flicks, wrapped one of the presents that had been sitting on the coffee table. As the ribbon came around it and tied itself into a fanciful bow, Sirius responded. "A wizard." Cindy watched what happened in fascination, staring at the present even after it had finished wrapping itself. Her heart was beating loudly in her ears, and she felt goosebumps forming on her skin. Sirius put his wand away and retook his place on his knees in front of her. "Magic is very real, Cin. We live in secret, and knowledge of our world is very closely guarded. Only Muggles –people without magic- who are involved with magicals or very high up in the government are allowed to know. It's one of our most important laws."

Cindy turned from the present to stare at him, seeing him in a whole new light. "James and Lily? And you other friends Remus and Peter?"

"They are all magical as well. We met at Hogwarts and, except for Lily who joined us towards the end of school, have been best friends for years. All of that was true."

Cindy nodded absently. "And the comment about the owls and tapestries?"

"Well . . ." Sirius began, "we're still a bit . . . backward in the wizarding world. Electricity and magic don't really go too well together, so technologically we're at about the turn of the last century. Unfortunately, we're also at about the same time period as a society; it seems that not being able to evolve intellectually has also led to social retardation as well. There are a lot of Victorian Era, or even earlier, beliefs, mores, and traditions that are still observed amongst British witches and wizards.

"But anyway . . . we still use owls to send messages as opposed to mailmen or telegraph or phones or anything like that. When my mother found out about Regulus she sent me an owl with a letter letting me know."

"So they're like carrier pigeons?" she asked.

"I don't know what that means, but if that's some kind of Muggle thing where you tie messages to those little flying pests then yes."

"And the tapestry?"

"More magic. In my parents' home is a tapestry that shows the entire Black family tree. When one of us dies, the caricature changes from an image of the person to a skull, and the year of death updates magically. Father was apparently in the sitting room and noticed the change and had a heart attack."

"Oh my God, is he okay?"

"No, he passed away as well."

"Well, why didn't you say anything about your father dying? Why just mention Regulus?"

"Because my family are terrible people, Cindy," Sirius said, standing once again. "My family is what the magical world calls pureblood, meaning that for as far back as can be recorded we've only ever married other magical people. Purebloods believe that they are superior to not only all other magic users but to Muggles as well, simply because of their blood. If they knew about me and you, it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility for them to physically attack you in order to keep us apart."

"Like Hell!" the woman yelled, standing up and approaching the dark-haired wizard. "I just found you, and I don't know where this is going but it seems like somewhere really good. And I'll be damned if I'm going to let any stuffy old witch say that I'm not good enough for her son!"

Sirius smiled and kissed Cindy deeply. "That's my girl," he said when the kiss ended. "That right there is one of the many reasons I've fallen in love with you, and also one of the many reasons why I hate my family. Regulus, though," he said, and she heard his voice catch, "for as much as he followed their way of life, was still my brother. Still just a boy . . ." he trailed off, and he buried his head in her shoulder as his sobs began. She held him closely and stroked his hair, whispering soothing words in his ear as she let him release his pain and loss. As his tears subsided she showered his face and neck with kisses, trying to bring life back into his tormented soul. After a time, he responded to her ministrations and followed her to the bedroom, and she helped him re-find joy and happiness in the wake of his sorrow.

Cindy was scheduled to fly back to America on the 17th, and so on the 16th she and Sirius, along with James and Lily, went out to dinner to celebrate an early Christmas. They picked a very nice Italian restaurant near Piccadilly Circus, and as they sat down Cindy could see excitement in both James and Lily's features. "Lil, what's got you two in such a fine mood?" she asked.

Lily smiled and took James's hand. "We were going to wait until a little later to say something, but you caught us," she replied, and before either Cindy or Sirius could say anything else she blurted it out. "We're having a baby!"

Sirius almost choked on the sip of water he was taking before looking at his two closest friends. "What!? A baby!? A little mini-Potter running around?" Both of his best friends just nodded. "That's amazing!" he exclaimed, rounding the table and wrapping both of them in a hug. "A new pup, the start of a brand-new generation of Marauders! Guys, this is unbelievable!"

Cindy had also stood up and was now embracing Lily. "I agree. Congratulations you two. I guess Santa came to the Potter house a little early this year." Both Potters just smiled, their faces radiant at finally telling someone else the news.

Later that night, after a more personal early Christmas with Sirius, Cindy laid in bed next to him as he slept. As she thought, she realized that time of the month hadn't been that time of the month yet and it was overdue. As a shiver ran up her spine, her hands instinctually went to caress her belly. Could it be that James's and Lily's child might have a playmate on the way? She couldn't be sure, and it wouldn't do to worry Sirius about it until she did. She would check when she got back to the States tomorrow, and if she was pregnant she and Sirius would tackle it then. Their relationship was still new but, as she had told him a few days before, she believed that it was something good. If she was indeed pregnant, and Sirius was the man she thought him to be, then everything would be perfect. If it made things turn sour, then better to know early and have options. Either way, until there was more information there wasn't anything to be done, so she curled up next to Sirius and tried to get a few hours of sleep before she had to leave for the airport.

"I wish you weren't leaving," a very morose Sirius Black said the next morning as he and Cindy stood near the gate for her flight. They had just announced boarding, which meant that they only had a precious few minutes left before she had to leave. It would be a few weeks before they would see each other again, nearly half as long as their budding relationship had already lasted. Neither was very keen on it being put to the test so soon, Cindy especially, what with the added burden of possibly carrying his child. "I could come with you," he offered once again.

"Sirius, we've been over this," she replied. "First off, you don't have a passport that would get you on a plane, and you already mentioned to me how difficult it is to get international magical transport this time of year. I'll bet it's worse than mine."

"I could just Confund the attendant and have him let me on," he said.

"Absolutely not," she said, putting her foot down. "Sirius Black, you are not breaking any more laws on my behalf, and my guess would be using magic in a crowded airport would definitely qualify." She kissed him lovingly. "I'll be back before you know it, love, and we'll pick up right where we left off. Just a pause, Sirius. Try to curb that impulsiveness of yours and exercise some patience."

"You know patience is not my virtue," he quipped, and she laughed as he held her close. "I'm going to miss you."

"And I you, my dear. Are you going to be okay? I hate leaving so soon after you found out about Regulus."

Sirius nodded solemnly. "I'll be fine. He and I had drifted apart, and I still have my other brothers to keep me company," he said, thinking of James, Remus, and Peter.

The final boarding call for her flight came over the loudspeaker, and they shared one final long and loving kiss. "I love you, Sirius Black."

"I love you too. Be safe."

"You too. I've seen you on that motorcycle," she said and he laughed, a stray tear emerging. He kissed her hand before she hoisted her backpack over her shoulder and turned toward the gate. With one final turn to see him waving, she entered the gangway toward her plane back to America.

Wednesday, December 19, 1979

Margo McClellan knocked on the bathroom door for a third time. "Cindy? Honey open the door. Sweetheart what's the matter?" After another few moments Margo heard the _click_ of the lock being undone and the door opened a small bit. She entered the room to find her youngest daughter sitting on the toilet staring at the sink.

A sink that held a pregnancy test.

"Cindy? Cindy are you . . .?" Cindy couldn't speak yet, so she just nodded. Suddenly a wide smile crossed her face and she held her hands to her belly.

"I'm having a baby," she whispered. She looked up at her mother with tears of joy in her eyes. "Mom, I'm having a baby!"

A shocked Margo stood as if turned to stone for a moment before she dropped to her knees and engulfed her daughter in a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, my little girl. Are you alright?"

"Mom, I'm . . . I'm great," she answered, pushing her mother out to arm's length. "I love him so much, Mom, and he's so good to me."

"Honey, you haven't known him for very long. I'm happy that you're happy, but are you sure this is the best thing?" her mother asked. Margo would always worry about her children, even if they were technically all adults now. Cindy was the last one living at home, and even that would be over once she finished school in the Spring.

"Sirius is a wonderful man, Mom," her daughter answered. "He's . . . magical," she laughed, knowing her mother wouldn't fully understand the joke but not being able to help it slipping past her lips.

Margo pulled her daughter out of the bathroom and into her bedroom, where they both sat on the bed, legs crossed, facing each other. "Tell me all about him, dear."

"He's the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome," Cindy said dreamily, thinking of the man she had so quickly fallen in love with. "He comes from an old British family, but apparently they're a bunch of stuck-up prigs and he left home when he was sixteen to live with his best friend James and his parents. He's funny, and sweet, and he refuses to take life too seriously."

"That sounds like someone we know," Margo said, smirking at her daughter. "They say that girls marry men like their fathers."

"Well he is different from Dad in one big way. Sirius is incredibly impulsive; a thought or action comes to him and he acts on it without thinking. I could never imagine Dad doing that; he always sees and analyzes every angle before he does something."

Margo smiled; Cindy's description of her father described Jeremiah to a T. "What does he do?"

On the plane home, Cindy had figured out a way to answer this question without outright lying to her mother. "Well, his uncle left him a pretty substantial inheritance when he died a couple of years ago, so he's been working as part of a group that's trying to effect some social change among the more elitist people like the rest of his family." She didn't think she needed to mention that the "elitists" were actually a bunch of murdering psychopaths, or that Sirius and his friends were being forced to try and effect their social change at the ends of magic wands.

"Well, he sounds like a very noble young man. When are you going to tell him?"

"As soon as I can after I get back to Britain," Cindy replied without hesitation.

Margo hesitated for a second before she dared ask her next question. "How do you think he'll take it, dear?"

"He'll be thrilled!" the youngest McClellan daughter said. "His best friend and his wife told us just before I left that they're having a baby, too, so they can grow up like siblings. Oh, Mom, it's going to be amazing!"


	2. Chapter 2

Saturday, January 5, 1980

Sirius Black waited nervously in the receiving lounge of the flight from JFK that Cindy was on. Two and a half weeks without her had done nothing to lessen his feelings for her; on the contrary, her absence had made him realize just how much she meant to him. It went beyond the simple maudlin attitude of a young man whose lover was not there; he felt an emptiness in his soul, a hole that he knew could only be filled by one woman, and he couldn't wait to see her again. Lily had suggested that he tell Cindy all of the "mushy romantic stuff" that he had spewed forth on New Years Eve to her; she had said "girls like to be reminded how their men feel about them in more ways than flowers or kisses or a romp in the sheets." Sirius intended to take Lily's advice to heart; he was more convinced than ever that this woman was going to be the center of his universe, and he would do anything and everything to show her his love and dedication if she would just get off the damned plane already.

Just as that thought came into his mind he saw her. The same curly brunette hair, the same rich hazel eyes, and if anything her smile at seeing him was brighter than any he'd previously received from her. He stood there entranced, the dozen roses in his hand forgotten as she ran the last 10 meters to him and leapt into his arms, her lips finding his in a needy kiss that left both of them out of breath. "I missed you so much," he whispered as he leaned his forehead down and touched her own.

"I can't tell you how much I missed you," she replied, kissing him again with similar urgency to their previous one. "Sirius?" she said when they'd broken apart a second time.

"Yes?" he asked, losing himself in her eyes.

"Take me home," she replied. "Take me home and make love to me. Show me how much you missed me."

Without words, but with a huge smile on his face, he took her hand and led her toward the baggage claim. The sooner they had her stuff the sooner they could get home. While he was sure Lily was right (she usually was), apparently the words could wait until after the flowers and the kisses and the romps. He, for one, was not going to complain one bit.

Several hours later an exhausted but physically sated couple lay facing each other in bed, sharing small, sweet kisses as they worked to get their breathing back under control. As their lips parted one last time they simply stared into each other's eyes, bright hazel matching soulful grey as they reconnected their spirits the same way they had just finished reconnecting their bodies. Neither could prevent the smile that erupted onto their faces, just as neither was aware of their own hands as they wandered aimlessly along the body of their respective beloved.

"I love you," Cindy said after an unknown amount of time had passed with their eyes locked on each other.

"I love you too," Sirius responded immediately.

Cindy pulled back slightly. "Do you? Are you sure?" she asked, suddenly nervous to reveal her discovery to him.

Sirius cocked his head to the side as he looked at her. "Of course I do, and of course I'm sure. Cindy, what's going on?" he asked, also suddenly nervous due to her unexpected response.

"I want to show you something, and before I do I want to make sure that you really mean all of it. That you're serious about this, about us, and that you feel as strongly for me as I know I do for you." She sat up on the bed and looked down at him as he stared.

"Cindy, what is it? Is everything alright?" He bolted up, taking her hands in his. "Cindy, I don't know what's got you so scared, but . . . yes, yes I love you. I am as sure about it now as I was the first time I told you. These past couple of weeks with you being gone have been torture. Not because of this," he said, waving his hand to take in the tossed about bedding. "Well, not only because of this," he added, and he succeeded in getting a smirk to grace her mouth. "But because it . . . it felt like a part of me was missing. There was a hole, right here," he said, tapping the center of his chest, "a gap left by your absence that nothing could fill. I was only complete again when you got off that plane and were in my arms. You are a part of me now, Cynthia Marie, and I am yours body, mind, and soul. I love you with all that I am and ever will be, and if I didn't think you'd smack me for my imprudence I'd get down on one knee in front of you right now and ask you to be mine forever." His words, spoken with such strength and conviction, caused tears to run down Cindy's face, and she took his face in her hands and kissed him softly before getting up off the bed and walking over to her backpack. She took a folded piece of paper out of the small front pocket and walked back over to the bed, sitting down with her legs crossed opposite Sirius, who had taken a similar position. Summoning up her courage, she handed him the paper. Sirius took it but didn't open it, instead looking at her oddly.

"Go ahead, open it," she said, and he unfolded the paper to reveal of very grainy black and white . . . something.

He couldn't make heads or tails of what he was seeing, and though the writing on the side told him which way was supposed to be up he couldn't help flipping the picture over trying to see if looking at it upside down might reveal what it was he was supposed to be seeing. Cindy laughed at him as he righted the paper once more and looked at her expectantly. "Okay, I give up, what am I looking it?"

"That, dear sir, is the first picture ever taken of your son or daughter," she said, a cautious smile on her lips.

"My what?" Sirius said, as he swapped quickly between looking at her, then down at the picture, then back at her.

"I'm pregnant, Sirius. My mom took me to a gynecologist while I was home to confirm and he did the first ultrasound while I was there. Basically he used sound waves to take a picture of inside my belly; that's what that is. You're going to be a father around the second week of August."

Sirius blinked his eyes rapidly as his mouth opened and closed several times, completely taken aback by what he was hearing. "Pregnant?" he finally managed to get out in a voice that had quite a bit of squeak to it. She nodded. "I'm going to be a dad?" he asked to another smiling nod from Cindy. Suddenly a huge smile played across his face and he sprang from his sitting position to smother Cindy under him on the bed. He kissed her deeply. "I'm going to be a dad!" he exclaimed when the kiss ended.

"Yes you are," she said simply, and he leapt off the bed and started pacing.

"I need to tell Prongs," he finally said after a couple minutes of wearing a hole in the carpet. "Lily's gonna flip. I need to . . . I need to . . . Cindy, what the hell do I need to do?" he said, suddenly looking at her. She just laughed.

"Well, first you need to come here and tell me that you're okay with this," she said, her legs dangling off of the bed and her hands reaching out for him.

"Okay with it? Okay with it!? Cindy, this is the singular most amazing thing that's every happened to me!" he said with a laugh, before he suddenly turned to her, his face looking grave. "Are you okay? Do you need anything? What we did before won't hurt the baby will it?" he asked in rapid succession.

"Sirius, relax and come here," she said, and he finally walked over to her. She wrapped her arms around his midsection as he stood in front her, resting her head against his chest. "Yes, I'm fine, and the baby is fine, and I am perfectly okay with this. And no, our lovemaking will not have hurt the baby. We have a lot to figure out, but right now I'm just glad that you're taking this so well. I mean, you're only 20, and I'm not much older, so I wasn't sure how you'd react."

A look of determination came across Sirius's face, and he left Cindy's embrace to walk over to his nightstand. He opened the top drawer and took a small box out of it before walking back over and kneeling in front of her. As he started to raise the box, he got out "Cynthi-"

"Oh no you don't, Sirius Black," she said in a huff but with a smile, closing both of her hands over the box and interrupting him before he could get started. "As much as I love it most of the time, your impulsive side cannot come out and play right now. Every girl dreams of the day the man she loves asks her to marry him, and I will not have that story be that you proposed to me while we were both naked in your bedroom not 15 minutes after we'd just gotten done screwing each other's brains out. If you want to propose to me, there will be candles and music, and a _very_ expensive dinner. Barring that, at the very least there will be pants involved. Understood?" She managed to keep the stern visage for about 10 seconds before they both started laughing uncontrollably, their arms reaching for and enveloping each other in a powerful embrace, words of love exchanged as the two of them laid the groundwork of their plan for life, love, and family.

Wednesday, January 9, 1980

"Padfoot what the hell have you done?!" James Potter yelled good-naturedly while Lily shrieked in happiness and wrapped Cindy in a hug. It was a couple of days after Cindy's big reveal to Sirius, and they had just told the other couple their big news. "Are you bloody kidding me right now? If this is some prank I swear to Merlin you're going to wake up hanging upside down naked from Big Ben!"

"While I would pay good money to see that, he's not messing with you James," Cindy said from Lily's shoulder. "The night you guys told us about yours I did some math and realized I was late. I did the test when I got home and then went to the doctor to make sure. Our little bundle should be along a couple of weeks after yours."

"Oh this is lovely," Lily gushed. "They can grow up as brothers. Or sisters. Or brother and sister." She hugged the American woman to her again, her early pregnancy hormones making her perhaps a bit more demonstrative than she normally would be. "So when's the wedding?"

"I haven't asked her to marry me yet," Sirius admitted, and then immediately cringed as Lily turned and started glaring daggers at him. As she reached for her wand, he immediately realized his mistake and pointed a finger as his significant other. "I tried! She wouldn't let me!" Confusion crossed Lily's face as she turned back to Cindy, who was just smiling.

"He tried to propose while we were both naked in the bedroom," she clarified, and Lily's ire turned back toward the last scion of the House of Black. Realizing that, while he wasn't in nearly as much trouble as he could have been but that he was still in trouble, he turned and sprinted for the kitchen. He almost made it before Lily's Stinging Hex impacted dead center on his left buttock and he pulled up short with a yelp, causing him to lose focus and run almost full-tilt into the doorjamb between the sitting room and kitchen. As he lay on the floor groaning, his left hand rubbing his soar butt cheek and his right rubbing his soar forehead, the other three showed typical Marauder care and concern and started laughing uncontrollably at him.

"Padfoot, get up and do the damned thing right," James said when he'd once again gotten control of himself. He walked over and pulled Sirius back to his feet, cast a quick Healing Charm to clear up the bruise on his forehead, and pushed him toward where the girls were still chuckling to themselves. Shaking his head to try and clear the cobwebs, Sirius reach a hand out for Cindy, who took his hand without hesitation. He pulled her to the center of the room and took a knee as he once again pulled the small ring box out of his pocket. He looked up at her and could see the wetness starting to form in the corners of her eyes, though her smile could have lit the whole of London as he began to 'do the damned thing right.'

"Cynthia Marie McClellan, from the moment we met I knew that the Universe had smiled down on me. You are my one, my only, my everything, and I love you with every fiber of my being. I know that I will never be worthy of you, and I can only pray that you will continue to show me the endless patience and understanding that you have to this point and allow me to make you and our child the center of my existence. Cindy, will you make me the happiest wizard alive and do me the indescribable honor of being my wife?" He opened the box and showed her a white gold ring with a modest sized diamond in a halo setting in the center and alternating diamonds and sapphires around the halo and down the band. His hands shook slightly as the box opened, and she immediately put her hands on his to steady them and she went down to her knees in front of him, staring him squarely in the eyes.

"Yes, Sirius. Today, tomorrow, and for the rest of our lives, yes," she said before pulling him in and kissing him soundly. They broke after a moment to the clapping of James and Lily, and Sirius slid the ring onto her finger before kissing her again.

Thursday, February 14, 1980

"Damnit, damnit, DAMNIT!"

Sirius rushed into the bedroom in a panic, which changed into a look of confusion upon seeing Cindy sitting on their bed in just her underwear, a wad of black fabric in her hands. He closed the distance to her to see tears in her eyes as she looked up at him.

"This . . . this . . . bloody incredible, frustrating miracle that you put in my innards has made it such that your favorite dress doesn't fit right anymore," she said in exasperation, holding up the material in her hands. As she raised her arms, Sirius couldn't help but notice the small but definitely there baby bump that had formed on Cindy's formerly taut stomach. All Sirius could do was smile.

"You're right, love, that is my favorite dress of yours," he admitted as he walked over toward the closet. "However, in honor of our first Valentine's Day together I thought that it might be time for a change." As he said this, he pulled a garment bag from his side of the closet and approached the bed with it. Holding it up with one hand he unzipped it with the other, showing an elegant, floor-length dress in a very dark blue. "I get the feeling that this might become my new favorite dress."

Standing, she removed the dress from the bag before walking over to the full-length mirror next to the door and pulling it in front of her. Sirius smiled as Cindy turned this way and that, her admiring the dress while he, in turn, admired her. Looking up and seeing his eyes observing her in the mirror, she turned back towards him before tackling him to the bed. As she climbed over him and started nibbling on his jaw, all he managed to get out was, "We have 8:00 reservations."

She looked up at him. "We're going to miss them," she said as she sat up, straddling his lap before reaching behind herself and unsnapping her bra, letting it fall to the wayside. "Do you have a problem with that?" All Sirius could do was shake his head emphatically as she started working on the buckle of his belt. "Good, because I have a sudden need to thank you profusely."

Friday, March 29, 1980

"I'm just not comfortable with it," Sirius said, looking at his bride-to-be with none of the usual mirth or good nature in his eyes.

"They're your best friends, Sirius," Cindy responded, "why wouldn't you want them to know that you're getting married and having a baby?" Cindy had been confused by Sirius's continued refusal to tell anyone except James and Lily that they were together, or that she was with child. He didn't even want to tell Remus or Peter, whom she had only met twice since that first night, and both of those times before Christmas. She continued to ponder him oddly when something finally struck her. "What don't you want me to know, Sirius?"

He sighed. He knew he would have to tell her eventually, and had told her part of his issue that day he had found out about Regulus, but he had been hoping that he'd have time to better form his thoughts before approaching her about it. "Well, it's like this Cin," he began. "I've told you about what is going on in the wizarding world right now, with the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters?" She nodded. "And do you remember me mentioning how my family would likely react if they found out that you and I were together?" Again, she responded in the affirmative. "I . . . may have understated just how badly things are going for us," he said, trying his best to avoid her gaze, which was probably good because she was trying her best to stare a hole right through him.

"Understated it by how much?" she said simply, not letting any of her varying emotions be reflected in her tone.

Sirius sighed again. "We're losing. Badly. You-Know-Who has been gathering a great many followers, not just witches and wizards but all manner of dark beings. Giants, werewolves, other magical creatures; he's built up an army, and he hasn't been afraid to use it. Our side just can't compete; mostly because with our asinine way of looking at the world we've alienated so many of the races that might be able to help. The goblins hate us. We've forced the centaurs so deep into their own territories with regulations that most of the time we can't even find them to talk, and even then the only way they want to talk to us is with an arrow. The dwarves basically have taken the standpoint of 'if you won't save yourselves why should we care?' And we can't get the international community interested because even though the Death Eaters are recruiting on the continent, they've been very careful not to take any direct action in or against another country so as not to raise the ire of the ICW. As long as they keep their raping and murdering to the British Isles, the rest of the magical world is perfectly content to let us burn.

"Worst, though, is the dissent within our own ranks," Sirius continued. "The Ministry was corrupt to begin with, and now that the Death Eaters are infiltrating it's getting even worse. Dumbledore believes even the Order has been penetrated, and that we have a turncoat amongst us." Sirius shook his head. "It's led to a lot of infighting. A lot of doubt. I . . . I don't know who to trust anymore." He looked up at her. "I can't take that chance, Cindy. Aside from James and Lily I can't afford to believe in anyone when it comes to you. Not even Remus and Peter. I'm willing to trust them with my own life but not yours. You and the baby are too important. You two are everything to me now, and I will not do anything if there's even a 1 percent chance that it puts you at risk.

"Especially now. Despite my mother's disappointment in me, I'm the last surviving male of the House of Black. Until recently, she has proceeded from the idea that if something were to happen to me that the family might die out. But my cousin Narcissa will give birth in a few months, and if it's a boy Mother will have much less compunction about acting on her desires to punish me. If she were to find out that you and I were getting married, and that you were carrying the half-blood next generation of the Black name, she would take every opportunity to make sure that Narcissa's son, if it is indeed a boy, inherits the Black fortune. By the point of a blade if need be.

"And then there's Bellatrix, my other crazy cousin. She has firmly allied herself with You-Know-Who, and hates everything that doesn't follow the Pureblood supremacy standpoint. She would torture you, punish you for even thinking that you were worthy of begetting a child of the House of Black. I won't let that happen, and the best way to do that is to keep you, and the baby, so far under the radar that no one even thinks to notice."

Cindy sat and contemplated all that Sirius had just told her. She had known about the war, of course, and about the animosity that most of the Sirius's family had for non-magicals. But to hear him spell it out in such a manner was sobering. "Is that why you wanted to have our wedding in the States?"

"That's part of it," he responded. "Aside from James and Lily, there would be no one in Britain that I can invite. My one not-crazy cousin and her family, and then Remus and Peter, but I won't tell any of them about you. And all of your family is across the pond; it might be safer, but it also makes more logical sense to get married over there. We don't have to worry about flying your family back and forth, and we can keep magic out of it. And if we do it close enough to Lily's due date, we can make the excuse that she is having some trouble towards the end of her pregnancy and that she and James are withdrawing for a bit so that she can relax until the baby is born."

"You've really thought about this, haven't you?" Cindy said, and Sirius nodded. "That's very unlike you," she said with a hint of amusement. "I'm so used to your 'Ready, Fire, Aim' mentality that I'm not sure how to handle you actually having a plan."

"Oi," Sirius said with a chuckle, "I'll have you know that most of our better pranks had a great deal of planning associated with them."

"Yes, but I'll bet dollars to pesos that you weren't the one doing the planning."

All Sirius could do was grumble, and Cindy laughed out loud at the look of mock-aggravation on his face as being read so easily by the woman he loved.


	3. Chapter 3

(A/N: Quotes in are in German)

Saturday, June 7, 1980

Cindy and Sirius laughed as he guided her around the dance floor. It was their first dance as husband and wife, and the scene could not be more perfect. Sirius's inheritance would have let them have a spectacular wedding, but as he twirled his new bride and looked around he decided that he liked the simple elegance that was on display much better. Cindy's father Jeremiah had insisted on paying for everything. "It's the tradition!" he had said happily when the Blacks (oh, how Sirius loved calling him and Cindy that!) had first announced their engagement. Sirius's first instinct had been to disagree until he'd met Jeremiah McClellan, at which point Sirius decided that he would let the six-foot six-inch former American football linebacker father of the woman he had gotten pregnant out of wedlock pay for the wedding before Sirius ended up as a bloody puddle of pain in a ditch along Interstate 80 somewhere.

Even then, Sirius was convinced it was Margo who had done most of the planning, design, and implementation, and it was yet another reason for him to love his new mother-in-law. Cindy had agreed on the colors being crimson and gold as an homage to his Gryffindor tendencies, and so the room was covered in his former house's colors. It wasn't overdone, though; it was just right. He had thanked Margo and Jeremiah profusely for their help, and had been very enthused by their eagerness to make sure the day went off without a hitch.

In the moments he had allowed himself to contemplate it, he wondered how any of his life since he was sixteen had managed to come to pass. He, the Pureblood scion of one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, had found friendship and family amongst those who seemed most diametrically opposed to his own family. Fleamont and Euphemia Potter, James's parents, had taken him in, and though they were also Purebloods they couldn't have cared less about it. They were thrilled when James had brought Lily home, and even more excited when the two of them had announced their engagement and eventually married. They had died before Lily had become pregnant but he was sure that they would have loved their grandchild, when they finally arrived, to the ends of the Earth. Though he had inklings of it through his friendship with Remus, from them Sirius had learned that people were people and should be judged on their own character; not their family, money, status, or circumstances. It was a lesson that he tried his best never to forget, not only in honor of those two wonderful people but because it was the right thing to do.

And now he had Cindy and the McClellans to call family. Despite his initial fears in relating to Jeremiah, he found a man who he firmly believed could teach him to be a better man and a good father. Jeremiah himself was a lesson in dichotomy, one that Sirius figured would take years to figure out. The man was as fun-loving as Sirius but was also a meticulous planner it seemed, having not only a Plan B for any situation but Plans C-Q waiting in the background at a moment's notice according to Margo and Cindy. Despite that, Sirius quite remembered the same conversation with Margo in which she had stated "Sometimes Plan Q is just beating whatever the problem is with a stick, but it's still a plan." Sirius knew he was impulsive, that he had a tendency to go off without thinking of what he was doing, let alone the consequences of his actions. While in many cases it had brought him good (Cindy and their baby came to mind), in other cases it had led to unimaginable pain, such as his separation from Regulus after he stormed out of the family house, and their subsequent estrangement before his brother's exceedingly untimely death. He knew he would need to try and curb that instinct if he was to be a good husband and father; he also knew it was going to be an uphill battle that would probably take years. But for Cindy, and their child, he was going to try.

{-}

Tuesday, June 10, 1980

With Cindy being 7 months pregnant, it was necessary to find a honeymoon spot where there was plenty to do if they wanted but not a lot of heavy activity needed. They had discounted Las Vegas, though Sirius sorely wanted to visit on their next trip to America. They'd also discounted any beaches (Cindy wanted to wait until she had her bikini body back), skiing (not that there was a lot of that in June), a cruise (who wanted to be stuck on a boat for two weeks?), and pretty much anything in Britain (while the risk of running into anyone they knew wasn't high, Sirius wasn't willing to take the chance).

Finally they'd decided on Basel, Switzerland. It had wonderful history, quite a number of museums, galleries, playhouses, a zoo, and a 500-year-old university. There was also a local art festival taking place that week, and so overall there was plenty to see and do. Cindy had to take frequent breaks, but she was eager for them to see as much as they could. It wasn't necessarily a romantic honeymoon, though the Blacks still found time for romance, but it was a chance to experience a new part of the world for the first time together, hopefully the beginning of many 'first time togethers' for the newlyweds.

They'd just gotten back to the hotel from visiting the _Art Basel_ fair. They had meant to stay a bit longer, but Cindy had started feeling a bit off and so they had come back early. She sat on the couch in their room, and Sirius had just knelt down to take off her shoes when she gripped her abdomen as a sudden pain washed through her. "What the hell?" Sirius said in shock. "Cindy, what's wrong? Where'd all this water suddenly come from?"

"Oh no," Cindy said out loud. "No. It's too soon." Looking at the terrified expression on Sirius's face, she knew that she was going to have to take charge of this, at least for the moment. "Sirius, my water broke. That means that the baby's coming. We need to get to a hospital."

"But we intentionally didn't look at the magical community here. I have no idea if they even have someplace like St. Mungo's."

"Sirius, there are non-magical hospitals too, love."

"A Muggle hospital? Don't they . . . don't they cut people up and sew bits of them back together?"

Cindy almost chuckled until another wave of pain hit her. "Sirius, you and I are going to have a _long_ discussion on what you do and don't know about the non-magical world, but right now a plain old-fashioned hospital will do just fine. Help me downstairs and we'll call a taxi." Nodding, Sirius pulled out his wand and pointed it at her. "Sirius Orion Black, just what the hell do you think you're doing?" she barked tersely.

"I was going to levitate you down to the lobby," he replied, his wand shaking in his hand.

"And you don't think people will notice that I'm floating along in front of you?"

"Well how else do you think I'm going to get you downstairs?" he exclaimed. "I refuse to Apparate you in your condition, and I don't know how to make a Portkey."

"Love, we'll get there just like we've gotten everywhere since we got here. Help me stand up and then we'll walk to the elevator."

"Walk?" Sirius said, putting his wand away. "Won't . . . won't the baby . . . I don't know . . . fall out or something?"

"Oh for Pete's sake," Cindy muttered. "No Sirius, the baby is not going to fall out. Now please help me before your child is born on this couch." At that, Sirius sprung into action, wrapping his arm tightly around Cindy and escorting her down to the hotel lobby and then out to the taxi stand. He helped her into the first taxi in the row.

"Please take us to the nearest hospital. My wife is having a baby!" Sirius said to the driver as he crawled into the backseat after Cindy was settled.

"Baby?" the driver said in astonishment, turning to look back at the couple that had just gotten into his cab.

"You speak the Queen's?" Sirius said. "Merlin, what are the odds?"

"Sirius," Cindy said, again both amused and annoyed by her husband's antics. "The German word for 'baby' is 'baby.'"

"Oh," Sirius aid, now less impressed with their driver.

"Take us to the nearest hospital, please" Cindy said in passable, though not Swiss, German. It was enough for the driver to understand, though, and he quickly pulled out into traffic and they began to weave their way toward their destination.

"Just breath, honey," Sirius kept saying, not knowing what else to do. "We'll be there soon, just keep breathing."

"Sirius, love," Cindy asked after another wave of pain had passed, "did you read any of the books I gave you about pregnancy and childbirth?"

"I, uhh . . . I may have skimmed them," he replied sheepishly.

"God, grant me strength," she said. "Okay, Sirius, I am too scared and in too much pain to sugarcoat this for you. This is early, way early, which is bad. The baby is going to be small, and is probably going to need machines to help them breath for a while after they're born. They're not going to be fully developed; I'm only 31 weeks along. I need you to try and keep calm and make sure I keep calm when I start to lose it. I need you to not be freaked out by what you see or hear or what they do to the baby after he or she is born. They're going to do everything they can to help; you need to let them. We're probably going to have to stay here for a while until it's safe for the baby to travel; tomorrow I'll need you to find us a place where we can stay for at least a month or two. Can you do all that for me, love?" she asked, looking lovingly into his grey eyes.

Hearing all of that from her, not only her concerns but her determination and her level-headedness, had a calming effect on Sirius. He nodded, then kissed her forehead as he continued to hold her hand. "Everything is going to be fine, Cindy."

"I know it is, Sirius," she said. "I'm with you."

Just a few minutes later, they pulled up in the emergency station of the hospital attached to the local university. The taxi driver got out of the car after saying he was going to run inside and find a nurse and a wheelchair; Sirius decided in that moment that he liked the driver again and that the guy was getting a huge tip. The driver returned, with a nurse and an orderly with a wheelchair just as Sirius managed to get Cindy out of the car. Cindy thanked the driver profusely, and Sirius shoved a huge wad of Francs into his hand before following his wife into the hospital. Sirius couldn't understand the conversation as he didn't speak German, but from the expressions on the nurse's face and the way she raced to her station and called for help, he imagined that Cindy had explained what was going on and why it could be a problem. He walked on Cindy's right side, holding her hand with his left while his right continued to clench and unclench into a fist. He longed to do something, anything. He was a man of action, a true Gryffindor if he did say so himself. He just acted, and here was probably the most critical situation of his life and there was nothing he could do! It was driving him up the wall; all that was keeping him from pulling his wand and using that to try and find help was his wife's words in the car. For her, he would try.

Cindy was wheeled into a room not long after they arrived, and not long after that an older man came in and started speaking to the nurse and to Cindy. Sirius was still unable to participate, but he was as supportive as he could be given the circumstances. At her request, Sirius helped Cindy change into a hospital gown, and he stood by her side as the time passed. The same doctor came in and out numerous times, as did the nurse, in order to ask additional questions or run additional tests. Then after about an hour another doctor came in, and thankfully this one spoke English.

"Mister and Missus Black?" he said with only a faint accent. "My name is Doctor Krankenhaus, and I am the hospital's resident neonatologist."

"That means that he specializes in babies born early, Sirius," Cindy said, which was good because Sirius had been about to ask the man what his religion had to do with anything. He really should have read those books.

"From what I've heard so far, you are 31 weeks along, yes?" he asked, to which Cindy nodded. The doctor hmmm'd to himself as he looked over Cindy's chart. "Well, the good news is that according to everything on here the baby appears very strong. They have a good heartbeat and the ultrasound didn't show anything abnormal, other than that he or she is going to be here a couple of months early. At this rate it looks like you'll be ready to give birth almost any time now. Now, I don't want to alarm you, but we're going to have to bring in some equipment to make sure that your baby has the best odds. Primarily, we are concerned that their lungs are not going to be fully developed, so we might need to put them on a ventilator or even in a ventilation chamber in order to help them breath. Many new parents get anxious about this but please be assured that we are going to do everything we can. Do you have any questions for me before we call the team in and get ready?"

"You speak very good English," Sirius said. "Where did you learn it?"

"Of all of the million questions you could ask about the risks to and care for your newborn child, you ask that?!" Cindy hissed as a contraction ripped through her. If her tone didn't cow him then the pressure she was now exerting on his hand as she worked through the pain certainly did. Krankenhaus, however, just laughed.

"While I don't necessarily disagree with you Mrs. Black, your husband is not the first I've encountered who has trouble thinking clearly in situations such as these. To answer your question, Mr. Black, I earned my medical degree and did my initial training in pediatrics and neonatology at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. I then spent 5 years as a resident at the Children's Hospital of Philadephia and came back home to Switzerland just before they opened their current facilities in 1974." He nodded to his newest patients before walking out of the room, leaving just Sirius and Cindy alone for a few moments.

"Sirius?" Cindy said when they were once again alone.

"Yes, love?" he responded immediately.

"I'm scared."

Sirius leaned down and kissed gently. "Me too."

"Tell me you love me."

"With all that I am and ever will be."

"I love you too."

Sirius smiled. "We're having a baby."

"We are, aren't we? You know we haven't really talked about names."

"Well, we thought we'd have more time," he smirked. "Just like their mother, they're an overachiever. Have to finish before all the others. Here we thought James and Lily's kid was going to be the older one." He looked down lovingly at her. "Let's meet them first and then we'll decide on their name."

"Sounds like a plan."

"I told you I have them every now and then."

{-}

"Sirius Black you did this to me!" Cindy screamed as another contraction hit.

"I know, I'm sorry!" he said, trying desperately to keep from crying out as Cindy again appeared to do her level best to break his hand.

"Not yet you're not, but you will be!" she yelled. She looked down at Doctor Krankenhaus. "They should be tiny. Why does this hurt so much?"

Krankenhaus laughed at his latest patient as he looked up. "Almost there, Cindy. One more push should do it."

Cindy took a deep breath and gave one more long push. As she released it and started panting, she and Sirius were rewarded with the sweetest sound either of them had ever heard; the keening wail of their newborn. " _Ein junge_ ," they heard Krankenhaus say, and Cindy smiled brightly at the declaration.

"A boy, Sirius," she explained. "We have a son."

"Indeed," Krankenhaus responded as he and one of the nurses cleaned the boy quickly, and the doctor clamped off the umbilical before looking up at Sirius and holding out a pair of scissors. "Care to do the honors, dad?" he said with a smile.

A wide grin was on Sirius's face as he took the scissors and snipped the cord, before the nurse whisked his child over to a table to continue cleaning him up and doing an initial checkup. The doctor turned back toward the couple. "If I didn't know better I'd say there was no way your son was 2 months premature," he said to the two of them. "We'll have to wait for the nurses to confirm, but I'd say he's probably only slightly below range size-wise as if he'd been full-term. You're going to have a strapping young man there, Mr. and Mrs. Black."

"Must have gotten it from his mother's side," Sirius responded, looking happily at his wife. "Her father is not a small man."

Cindy nodded. "There isn't a male in my family, on either side, that is shorter than . . . 190 centimeters," she said, doing the math quickly in her head.

"Well, be thankful for those genetics today, Mrs. Black," Krankenhaus said. "It's given your son much better odds. We'll still want to keep him here for a while, just to make sure that everything is okay, but hopefully there won't be any complications."

Anything further was interrupted as the nurse brought an infant swaddled in a blue blanket back over to the bed and laid him in Cindy's arms. Krankenhaus had been right; he wasn't nearly as small as Cindy had been afraid he would be. He had the blue eyes typical of all newborns, and a small tuft of black hair. "He's beautiful," she said. "Sirius, look what we did."

"I see him, love," Sirius replied to her before kissing her on the forehead. "You did good, Cin."

"You too, Dad," she said, and Sirius's smile threatened to take in his ears as he looked down at his wife and his newborn son. "Well, he's here. What should we name him?"

Cindy looked down at her son, trying to find a name that would fit the wonder that she held in her arms. She thought of Sirius, his family, everything that was going on in his life, and a name came to her on a whim. "Antares," she said without hesitation. "The brightest star in Scorpius, and his name literally means 'the opponent of Ares.' With everything that's going on in . . . well, you know . . . it seems appropriate; the rival of war. And it keeps with the Black tradition for names."

Sirius looked down at the small boy and nodded. "That's perfect, love. How about Antares Jeremiah, after your father? We can call him AJ."

Cindy reached a hand up, hooked it around Sirius's neck, and pulled him down for a kiss before releasing him and pulling her son closer to her chest. Sirius leaned down and rested his head against both hers and little AJ's as Cindy spoke. "Welcome to the world, Antares Jeremiah Black. I'm your Mom and that there is your Dad. You were a surprise, no doubt, but we love you so much already."

"You're in for one wild ride, kid," Sirius added.

{-}

Cindy awoke sometime the following afternoon to, no surprise, AJ crying. She looked over and smiled at her son, lying in a ventilation chamber just to be safe. He didn't seem to need it though, if the volume of his cries were any indication. As Cindy sat up and prepared to get out of bed to go over to him, she was cut off by one of the nurses coming in. "Don't get up Mrs. Black. I'll bring your boy over to you."

Cindy just smiled at her and pushed the pillows behind her so that she was sitting upright. The nurse carefully removed AJ from the chamber and carried him over to Cindy's waiting arms. She held him close and moved her gown to expose her left breast, which the newborn latched onto eagerly and began to feed. It was to this scene that Sirius returned, and his heart filled with joy at the sight. He walked over and kissed Cindy on the forehead before doing the same to AJ. "Don't hog those all day, kid."

"Sirius!" Cindy exclaimed, but laughed nonetheless. "Did you find us a place to stay for a while?" He had left early that morning to do just that.

"Sure did," Sirius replied, puffing his chest out. "It took some doing, but you'd be proud of me. It turns out there's a magical enclave in Saint-Louis on the other side of the Swiss/French border. Since my French is leagues better than my non-existent German, I was able to do some asking around. Found a perfectly lovely chap who spoke both who was willing to help me out."

"Sirius . . . why did you need the local magical community? We just needed a short-term lease apartment or a long-stay hotel. It should only be a few weeks, probably no longer than two months. With any luck we'll be back in England before Lily's due date."

"Oh," Sirius said, running his hand through his hair and looking away nervously. "Yeah, you did mention a month or two yesterday, didn't you?"

"Sirius?" Cindy asked tentatively. "What did you do?"

"Well . . ." he hedged, "the good news is that we should be able to stay there for two months no problem."

"Sirius?"

"In fact, we could probably stay there a good bit longer if we want. I'm sure the owner won't mind."

"Sirius!?"

"I bought a house."

Cindy blinked a few times in rapid succession. "I'm sorry, I must have misheard you. It sounded like you said you bought a house."

Sirius sighed. "That's because that's what I said." Before she could respond, he continued quickly. "The chap I met helped me find a realtor, who had this great place about 10 or so miles east of here. You're going to love it, Cin," he said. "I just couldn't stop myself; I asked the guy to Side-Along me to the Gringotts branch in Zurich and pulled enough to buy it and do a few other things."

"A few other things?"

Sirius's fidgeting got worse. "Yeah. You remember the day I told you Regulus died?" Cindy just nodded, not sure where the conversation was going. "How my parents had figured out Regulus was dead? The tapestry is self-updating, remember?" Cindy gasped as she finally understood where Sirius was going, and Sirius just nodded. "Sooner or later someone is going to look at the tapestry and see you and AJ on it. Mother will send someone, probably Bellatrix, to try and find me and figure out who you are. If they find you and, more to the point, find out that you're a Muggle, they're going to come after us. Thankfully, they'll never in a million years think to look for us in Switzerland; only your parents and James and Lily knew where we were going on our honeymoon. And the tapestry just has years of birth; they won't know what date AJ was born. Plus, they're so arrogantly xenophobic they'll spend all their time looking in England, not realizing AJ wasn't even born there. Still, just to be safe I've invested in some extra protections for the house. Now, even if by some miracle they did decide to look in Switzerland they'll never be able to find the house. Even if we only stay here for a couple of months and then go back to England, I'll feel better knowing that we literally have a safe house if things in England keep going as badly as they have been."

Sirius stopped to take a breath, and Cindy pondered everything that he had said. She knew that Switzerland would never be their long-term home unless something drastic happened; Sirius was too committed to what was going on in magical Britain, and neither he nor Cindy would just up and abandon James and Lily. Her schooling was done for now, thank God, so the only thing really tying her to Britain was Sirius. Still, he had BOUGHT A HOUSE without talking to her first. "Sirius, sooner or later this impulsive streak you've got is going to get you in a lot of trouble." He put his head down like a scolded puppy. "That being said, and while I know it was that impulsiveness that drove you to do what you did, your reasons after the fact are still pretty sound." Sirius tilted his head up, daring to believe that he was getting off the hook. She squashed that thought with her next comment. "Don't think, though, that I'm pleased that you bought a house without talking to me first. In the end, it's your money and you can do what you want with it, but can we please discuss any future life-altering purchases _before_ actually making them, regardless of where the money came from?" Sirius nodded his head like an idiot, just pleased that she wasn't really yelling at him but just reinforcing the idea that he needed to get his self-control back under . . . well, under his control. "Good. Now take your son," she said with a smile, handing him a towel. She explained to him how to put it over his shoulder, how to hold AJ, and how to try and burp him. As Sirius walked around the room, gently bouncing their boy while he patted his back, Cindy looked at the most important men in her life and knew that, just like pretty much every day since she'd met Sirius Black in that pub, her life was never going to be the same.

(A/N: According to Google Translate 'Krankenhaus' is German for 'hospital.' It seemed amusingly appropriate.)


	4. Chapter 4

Sunday, 15 June, 1980

"Sirius?" Cindy queried in a stern voice. "I swear to God if this is another one of your stupid pranks you're changing every one of AJ's diapers for a month."

She and Sirius were standing just outside a little hamlet called Olsberg, and Cindy was looking at a lovely but empty plot of land that sat near a copse of trees at a hard curve in the road they were on. As much as he had almost given her an aneurysm a few days ago by announcing that he had bought a house, to now be standing at a barren strip of real estate really had her hackles up. She wanted to blame part of it on post-partem hormones, but the simple truth was that she figured Sirius was pulling her leg.

Sirius, on the other hand, suddenly realized the error of his ways, and also realized that (once again) certain elements of his anatomy might be in mortal peril from his paramour. "Oh, yeah, sorry." He cleared his throat. "The Black Family lives at Schönenberg 1, Olsberg, Rheinfelden, Aargau, Switzerland." Cindy gasped as suddenly a beautiful 2 story whitewashed home with red clay roofing tiles appeared right in front of her. She looked back at Sirius, the question obvious in her eyes. "So, while I was talking to Hugo, the guy who helped me find this place, I happened to mention in passing wanting to basically drop every protection imaginable on it. He said that he knew a man who could cast something called the Fidelius Charm. I'd never heard of it before but it sounded dead useful once he explained it to me. Basically you have a secret; it can be any piece of information from a recipe for Yorkshire Pudding to the location of a house," he said, pointing at the now-visible building. "You cast the charm and pick a person, who's called the Secret Keeper. That person, and that person only, carries the secret, and only they can reveal it to others. Even someone who's told the secret can't tell anyone, and can only talk about it with others who also know it. So, in this case, I had the man cast the charm with me as the Secret Keeper. Once he did, this building basically disappeared for everyone else; as far as the rest of the world except you and I are concerned, this house doesn't exist. My family could be standing right where you and I are now and not have a clue the house was there," Sirius finished, seeming particularly proud of himself.

"Okay, so first off, very cool," she said, and Sirius smiled. "Second, if we were staying here for any length of time I could see a couple of flaws with this. First, how would we get mail?" Sirius opened his mouth to answer and then stopped, not really having a good response. "What address would we put on forms we had to fill out? What address would we give a school that AJ would go to? What if they bulldozed this entire area in order to build more houses; would they just build around this one spot?"

"Huh," Sirius answered simply. "Well, I think we've firmly established by now that wizards aren't exactly known for their critical thinking, problem solving, or long-term planning," Sirius responded, not upset with Cindy but clearly seeing the pitfalls she mentioned. "Well, at least we won't be staying long, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue."

Cindy nodded before taking Sirius's hand. He was doing everything he could to make sure that she and AJ were safe, and that meant more to her than she could possibly convey to him. And . . . well, it _had_ been a while. This time it definitely was _not_ the post-partem hormones. "That doesn't mean you can't show me around. And it doesn't mean we can't christen our bedroom before we get back to AJ." Sirius smiled as he walked with Cindy up to the front door. He unlocked it and pushed it open before picking her up in his arms and carrying her across the threshold of their home. He didn't put her down on the other side, though, but continued to the staircase and carried her up the stairs, thankful that he had already purchased furniture (particularly a bed) for the house.

{-}

Thursday, 3 July, 1980

"Little AJ has been doing remarkably well," Doctor Krankenhaus told Sirius and Cindy. "His breathing is fine, and he's been putting on weight such that he's almost up to normal weight after only 3 weeks."

"So what are you saying, Elias?" Cindy asked. The Blacks had gotten to know the doctor quite well since AJ had been born, which wasn't surprising since they saw him almost every day and didn't have any friends in Switzerland.

"Well, I'd like him to stay over the weekend, but after that I think we can discharge him. You can take him home on Monday," Krankenhaus said with a smile on his face, a smile that was matched by Sirius and Cindy. She turned to her husband and hugged him tightly before turning back to the doctor.

"What about taking him back to Britain? Our best friends are having a baby of their own in a couple of weeks; we'd really like for AJ to be there to meet his cousin."

Elias thought for a moment. "I would still wait until he's at least a couple of months old before getting on a plane," he said finally. "His immune system will probably still need some time to get up to snuff, so all that recirculated air could be bad for him. I'd stay off long train rides too, for the same reason. If you wanted to drive back to England I guess you could, but that's . . . what . . . 800, 900 kilometers, plus the ferry? I'm not sure if you want to make that kind of drive with a newborn. I'm sorry to say it, but for AJ it would perhaps be best if you delayed going back to England until . . . perhaps Christmas?" The doctor cringed; he knew that it wasn't what the couple wanted to hear, but his first priority was AJ's care, as he knew theirs was as well.

Cindy looked over at Sirius, who seemed a bit gobsmacked at the information. Turning back to Krankenhaus, all she said was, "Thanks Elias. We'll discuss it over the weekend and see if we can figure something out."

{-}

"No, no way in Hell," Sirius said emphatically. When they had gotten back to the house they had tried to come up with a viable solution to getting back to England in time for James and Lily's baby to be born. Apparently all of the normal forms of wizarding travel – Apparition, Floo, and Portkeys – also were not recommended for newborns until they were a couple of months old. Sirius had said that most wizarding babies were born at home using midwives, though Cindy had laughed when Sirius told her that one of the reasons so many women had been up in arms when flying carpets had been made illegal in Britain was because it was the easiest and most comfortable way for a new mother to get home after having her baby at St. Mungo's. Cindy had finally floated the idea of Sirius going back alone, leaving her and AJ at the house. He, it seemed, was not so enamored with that plan, hence his comment.

"Sirius, I don't see another way of making this work," Cindy said. "Well, short of bringing James and Lily here to have the baby," she finished jokingly. Her eyes got wide as she realized what she'd just said, and by the look in Sirius's eyes she knew that he was letting that blasted impulsive side rule his decision-making processes again. "Sirius. No. We are not asking James and Lily to come halfway across Europe just to have a baby."

"Why not?" Sirius asked honestly. "It's perfect. Lily has been hinting that she wants the baby born the Muggle way so that he has papers and everything like that in the Muggle world. In theory she should still be able to take a Portkey, and they could even get it from Gringotts and come to the Zurich branch and the Ministry and the Death Eaters would be none the wiser. Neither one of them really have any family, so no one would be put out by them not being around for the birth. We like Elias, so he could deliver the baby. And we have plenty of room here at the house so they could stay with us and we could all go back at Christmas. Hell, we could have Christmas here and then head back in the new year. It all works."

Cindy sighed, damning the fact that his impetuous thought processes every now and then actually yielded viable ideas. Still, she knew that it wasn't their decision to make. " _IF_ I agree to this," she said, and Sirius's eyes twinkled, "will you agree to at least go back to England alone long enough to explain it to them and get them organized? I think AJ and I can manage for a few days without you."

Sirius smiled and leaned in to give her a soft kiss. "You're going to agree and you know it."

"Is that so? What makes you so sure?"

"Two things. One, even though it's me it still makes sense." Cindy snorted. "Two, because you love me."

Cindy sighed. "Crap."

Sirius just smiled.

{-}

Wednesday, 16 July 1980

"Oh my stars, look at him!" Lily exclaimed. "He's adorable." James and Lily had just arrived from England via the Gringotts branch in Zurich, just like Sirius had suggested. It had not taken much to convince Dumbledore and the Order of the little white lie that Lily was having a tough end of her pregnancy, and so she and James were stepping away until after the baby was born. It also wasn't difficult to tell them that they'd wanted to have the baby in the Muggle world so they might not be heard from for a while after the birth, though it did earn them a few odd looks from the wizards and witches who couldn't understand why they'd want to do that. Though the people weren't blood purists or anti-Muggle, it didn't mean they didn't see the 'magical way' as the 'better way' for most things.

It was even easier to convince them that Sirius had spent the last few weeks following a lead on finding his cousin Bellatrix and that was why no one had seen him, and that he would be going with James and Lily 'to provide moral support.' It was just the sort of spontaneous action that Sirius was know for amongst the Order of the Phoenix. Remus was off once again trying to convince the werewolf packs to at least stay neutral, and Peter had started being seen less and less as things in Britain had gotten worse, though he still appeared for most Order meetings when they were held. Sirius and James loved him, but they were honest with themselves when they both had attributed the absences to Peter just being himself, meaning one part cowardly, one part lazy, and one part self-serving.

All of that was unimportant now, as heavily pregnant Lily got her first look at the 5-week-old Antares Jeremiah Black. He might only have been a month old, but all four of them could see his baby blue eyes starting to take on the grey color that the Black family men were known for, along with the trademark black hair. So far he had been a cooperative baby; he didn't cry much, and he always seemed to be smiling. "Oh, he's going to be a little heartbreaker like his father," Lily cooed as AJ wrapped the tiny fingers of both hands around her index finger.

"As long as he has his mother's good sense," Sirius replied, earning him a pleasant kiss from his wife. "Actually, we wanted to ask you both something," he continued as he turned toward James and Lily, both of whom were fawning over the little nipper. Lily held the boy in his arms as she gently bounced him. "Cindy and I were wondering if you two would consent to being AJ's godparents."

"Really? Us?" James said. "I mean, I'm honored. _We're_ honored. But . . . that's a big deal, guys."

"Easiest decision we've ever made," Cindy said. "First, we know that if something happens to us, God forbid, that you'll both love AJ like he was your own. Hell, you're already doing it now," she said with a chuckle. "We know he'll have a good home with you, that you will keep him safe and raise him the right way. Second we know that, financially, raising a second baby won't be an added burden. We could send him to be with my parents, but they're both almost sixty and I don't think could keep up with a toddler. Third, ever since I found out I was pregnant I've had this vision of our kids growing up like siblings. I've only known you guys for less than a year, but you both are as close as family to me, and I _know_ you're both family to Sirius."

"Fourth, you're the only two people in Britain who know he exists," Sirius finished with a laugh, which earned him a scathing look from Lily and an elbow to the side from Cindy. "Damn, tough room," he said.

Shaking her head, Cindy turned her attention back to the Potters. "So, do you accept?"

"Of course," Lily said without hesitation. "Provided that you two agree to be the godparents of this little one once they make an appearance," she finished, looking down at her protruding belly.

Sirius and Cindy looked at each other quickly for confirmation before turning back to the other couple. "Second easiest decision we've ever made," Cindy said with a smile.

{-}

Thursday, 31 July 1980

Sirius, Cindy, and little AJ were in the waiting room of the baby delivery wing of the university hospital, the same one AJ had been born in a month and a half previously. Lily's water had broken the previous morning, and she had been in labor for the last 18 hours. From the reports they got occasionally from James or Elias she seemed to be in the home stretch; for James's sake Cindy certainly hoped so. A bout of accidental magic earlier had tossed James ass over tea kettle over the chair he had been sitting in and bruised a couple of his ribs; to be fair he had asked "does it hurt?" right after a contraction that had left her screaming. Even Sirius had had enough sense not to say something so ridiculous while she had been in labor, and he had the worst case of 'foot-in-mouth' disease of anyone she'd ever met. At least it had only been the four of them in the room at the time; that would have been a hell of thing to have to explain to Elias or the nursing staff.

Sirius had spent a good amount of the time they had been waiting pacing, both excited and scared for his best friends. The only thing that had calmed him was when Cindy had plonked him down in a chair and put AJ in his lap; the little boy never ceased to cause a wide smile on Sirius's face, even if he was changing a dirty nappy at the time. She smiled at the memory, at all of the memories they had made in the last month and a half. Sirius, despite his flaws, was proving that he was up to the challenges of being a caring husband and a good father. She had known that he would be, once he'd gotten some sense knocked into him. She just hoped that he would grow out of his impetuousness.

Her thoughts were interrupted by James walking slowly into the waiting room, a dazed look on his face and his eyes seemingly unseeing. Sirius turned and rushed toward his best friend and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Prongs? Prongs, what's the matter? Talk to me, mate, what's wrong?"

"Never . . ." James stuttered. Cindy and AJ joined the two men as the woman eyed James quizzically.

"Never what, James?" she asked softly.

"Never . . . never . . . sh-sh-should . . . h-h-h-have . . . w-w-w-w-watched . . ." he finally managed to get out.

Cindy couldn't help herself; she burst out laughing at his near-catatonia. Sirius looked at her, not quite understanding what was going on. "Elias must have asked him if he wanted to watch the baby being born," she explained. It looked like he still didn't understand, so she drove the point home by raising AJ up almost to Sirius's eye level. "Imagine if you have seen this little one, all covered in blood and goo, shooting out of my lady parts. How would you have reacted?" She laughed again as a series of shudders coursed through Sirius, which seemed to be involuntarily matched by James. "But Lily and the baby are okay?" she asked the still-stunned Potter male.

"Both Mrs. Potter and her child are doing very well," Doctor Krankenhaus said as he approached them. "She's asking for all of you, I'm assuming to make the introductions."

Cindy smiled and thanked Elias before she practically dragged the two men, who both now seemed almost drowning in unpleasant mental imagery, back to the room where Lily and the newest Potter were. She opened the door slowly and peeked in, coming all the way inside at Lily's 'come hither' gesture with her hand. As Cindy and AJ approached, James and Sirius shuffling behind her, Cindy noticed for the first time the little face firmly ensconced in a blue blanket on Lily's chest. "A boy?" she asked the new mother.

Lily smiled a happy but tired smile. "Yep. Cindy, Sirius, AJ, I'd like you to meet Harry. Harry James Potter."

{-}

Tuesday, 9 September 1980

Sirius and James, having been raised in the magical world, did not practice a religion per se. They both believed in a higher power but had never given it form or name. Many Muggleborns and Half-Bloods practiced the religions of their non-magical parents or ancestors, but multi-generational Purebloods tended to shy away from worship. When they were still in school the two of them liked to joke that it was because the bigoted bastards couldn't stand to think of themselves beneath anyone, even a deity, but that had been shot out of the water by how the Purebloods had flocked to Voldemort and pretty much venerated him.

Despite being a witch Lily still practiced the religion of her parents, Anglicanism. To her, magic and God were not mutually exclusive. Magic did not automatically make a person evil or unworthy of salvation, it was just another gift. Cindy, meanwhile, had been raised Episcopalian so she and Lily shared many of the same memories with regard to ceremonies and traditions in their chosen worship.

Though the term was still used by magicals, much of the pomp and circumstance surrounding being a godparent had been stripped away over the years, to where it was merely a way of designating a guardian should the worst happen to both parents. Some, however, and while the percentage was higher in those who practiced a religion it was not exclusive to that group, believed that being designated a child's godparent held a deeper meaning. There were the religious aspects, yes, but there was more still than that. You were promising to take that child as your own, to care for them and love them as your own flesh and blood. To provide for them, protect them, and teach them not only the ways of the world but how to be good people. Even if the worst never happened, you were vowing to help guide a young soul along a life worth living, passing on knowledge, wisdom, wonder, and joy onto the next generation.

It was for all of these reasons that the 6 of them, the 4 adults and 2 babies, found themselves where they were at the moment, in an Anglican Church on a Tuesday afternoon, with no one else around but the vicar. The 7 people were up near the altar surrounding a pedestal topped by a basin of water, which the priest was in the process of blessing. As the elder began the ceremony, each considered the words carefully, whether it be in the context of their own beliefs, their experiences of the world, or the current climate that they knew they'd eventually have to return to in England. They all found their thoughts eventually focusing on Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and how it was their (even Cindy's, as Sirius's wife) responsibility to stand against them in order to make the world Harry and AJ had just entered worth living in. It was their solemn duty as parents and godparents to make it so, and thus the words of the ceremony took on even more added meaning.

" _Do you reject the devil and all rebellion against God?"_

James thought that if any living soul qualified as the devil than it was Voldemort.

Sirius thought about how the Death Eaters truly were a group in open rebellion against Magical Britain.

Lily thought about all of the things Voldemort seemed to have done to himself to make himself even more terrifying, taking him farther from God.

Cindy thought about the stories she had heard up to that point; stories about magical fire and human suffering, all caused by these people who wished for a new world order.

"I reject them," all four said in unison.

" _Do you renounce the deceit and corruption of evil?"_

Lily swore to fight with every fiber of her being against the inroads the Death Eaters had made in the Ministry and their society has a whole.

Sirius vowed that, for his son and his godson, he would face any evil, any terror.

James decided to try and use the Potter name to try and run for a spot on the Wizengamot so that he might root the bastards out from the inside.

Cindy looked down at the two boys and promised that she would always be honest with them, would show them the better way so that those who her husband and friends opposed would never hold sway over them.

"I renounce them," the four replied.

" _Do you repent of the sins that separate us from God and neighbour?"_

Cindy felt ashamed of the times that she had considered trying to talk Sirius into leaving England and leaving its problems behind.

Sirius was sorry for not being a better friend to those who had died fighting in this terrible war.

Lily let a tear fall from her eye at the admission that she would sacrifice anyone, anyone in the world, including herself, if it meant keeping Harry and AJ safe.

James closed his eyes and once again felt the pain he felt that he had never let anyone, not even his own wife, know about. The pain of guilt that, for the briefest of seconds during his Sixth Year when Lily seemed forever out of his reach, he had entertained the idea of joining the other side.

"I repent of them."

Most of the rest of the liturgy faded from their conscious minds until the priest's final words.

" _Let us offer one another a sign of peace."_

As hugs and handshakes were shared amongst all, though each had only spoken the words required for the ceremony, they all had taken away something much greater. A sense of purpose, to deny and defy those who would try to ruin the world that these two young men were just now getting to see. They would do everything within their power to make the world a better place, and teach Harry and AJ how to make it even greater when their time came. They could do no less for the ones they loved.

* * *

(A/N: Sorry for the long author's note, but I wanted to mention a couple of things.

Olsberg is an actual municipality in Switzerland and the road I mentioned that their house is on, at least as of this writing, appears to have no houses on it according to Google Earth, hence why I chose it.

It is never stated in canon, as far as I know, where Harry was born. I know that there are conflicting ideas that he was born while James and Lily were in hiding, but it's never been confirmed and this fits into the narrative, and will be important for a scene taking place much later on (if I ever get to that point in the story).

I introduced the restrictions on magical travel since those methods seem much more . . . extreme than non-magical travel, which is not recommended for newborns, and again it fits into later plans. The flying carpet bit was just a shout out to an offhand comment in the books.

I have no idea if University Hospital of Basel has a delivery wing or a neonatal unit. I found a hospital in Basel that would have been around in 1980 and rolled with it.

The Anglican Church has been in Basel, officially, since 1928 according to their website ( /about-us/).

The words of the baptism/christening ceremony are taken directly from the Church of England's website ( ). I know The Peace isn't the end of the ceremony, but it seemed a good place to stop.)


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry for the wait; unfortunately I've been doing more reading than writing lately.

A/N 11/7/19: Corrected this chapter, as in a later chapter I said Dumbledore became Chief Warlock after Sirius went to Azkaban, but in the original of this chapter he's already Chief Warlock.

* * *

Friday, 26 December 1980

The Potters and the Blacks were relaxing in the sitting room of the Black home on Boxing Day, enjoying Irish Coffees and delicious scones spiked with chocolate chips that Cindy had made. The day before had been almost entirely about the five- and six-month old boys who were currently, blissfully, sleeping up in their shared room. Though there wasn't a lot that you could really get a boy that age the parents and godparents had made up for it by instead lavishing them with attention and love.

Now, however, it was time to start considering next steps.

"I wish I knew what this was all about," James said as he read through the fifth letter Albus Dumbledore had sent him and Lily since they'd gotten to Switzerland (of course Dumbledore didn't know they were in Switzerland) for the third time. "Why is he so insistent that we contact him?"

Sirius could only shrug. "No idea. Maybe he's eager to finally get the Order off of the sidelines. This information gathering and cleanup routine is for the birds."

"I'm not sure," Lily said pensively from her husband's side, having already read and thoroughly pondered each successively more desperate note from their former headmaster. "I think something spooked him."

"What in the world could possibly spook Dumbledore, and what does it have to do with you two?" Sirius asked.

Lily considered her response for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't know. But he was perfectly content to let us go at the beginning of July, even encouraged us to 'lose ourselves in the Muggle world for as long as thought was necessary,'" she said, using her best 'Grandfather Dumbledore' voice to speak the quote from the man. "But ever since Halloween all of sudden he's been flooding us with an owl every couple of weeks. Even when we say we're not ready to come back to the Order, it's almost like he's demanding that we appear. It makes me nervous, all things being equal."

"Well," Cindy began, and this wasn't a subject she was going to bring up lightly, "we could all stay here." At the astonished looks from the three English spellcasters, she continued. "I mean, think about it. There's no war here. No fight. Switzerland hasn't been to war since the 1840s or something like that. Sirius said even Grindelwald's War barely lifted the needle here for the wizards. It's safe. I can get some more German lessons and go to law school; I might even be able to do something with magical law since my husband is a wizard. James, you and Sirius can transfer your accounts to the Zurich branch of Gringotts. Honestly, what's forcing you back?"

Sirius was stunned. Right after AJ had been born Cindy had made it clear that she wasn't looking to Switzerland as their permanent home; they only had a house here because of Sirius's tendency to wildly overreact. Sirius himself had never even considered staying here permanently. "But . . . England is home. Our friends are there. The fight is there. We can't just up and leave it behind, that'd be like running away. We can't let those bastards win."

"Sirius, you're not the government, the police, or the military," Cindy said pleadingly. "At best, you're all an organized militia. Let the people who are supposed to handle it handle it."

"I don't know if we can," James answered for them. "The magical government is crawling with Death Eaters, sympathizers, cowards, or incompetents. The Ministry can do fuck-all about Voldemort right now."

"All the more reason to stay here where it's safe," Cindy answered.

"And what about everyone else in England?" Sirius stated. "What happens when Voldemort wins? Do any of us really think he'll stop with Britain? I for one don't. He'll use the island as a staging ground. Next will be France, then the rest of Iberia. By the time the boys are adults this fight could be on their doorstep, even here."

"Won't the international community get involved if he leaves Britain?" Cindy asked.

"Maybe," Lily said, and by the expression on her face Cindy could tell that she was seriously considering the idea before she responded. "But still . . . 'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.' We have the ability to act. Doesn't that mean we have the responsibility to act?"

Cindy sighed and closed her eyes as her head tilted to the ceiling. She knew this was a fight she wasn't going to win; James and Sirius were both too noble and too stubborn to allow others to fight and die while they believed they could do something about it. It was an honorable and admirable trait that made her want to beat both of them with a bat before tying them to chairs until they came to their senses. They would fight to the last man on principle, even if the fight was hopeless. Which, after hearing everything the two of them and Lily had to say about the Death Eaters seemed like an apt adjective. Taking a deep cleansing breath and hoping the feeling in the pit of her stomach was just paranoia, she opened her eyes. "When do we leave?"

{-}

Thursday 15 January 1981

The door burst open with such ferocity that Albus Dumbledore was sure he heard the hinge screws coming loose from the wooden doorjamb. That concern was secondary, however, to the fierce look on the face of the wild-haired wizard that had just stormed into the room, the secretary of Dumbledore's Wizengamot member office at the Ministry trailing behind him carrying on that he didn't have an appointment. Albus had been expecting this confrontation for almost 2 weeks, however, and so assumed his most congenial and disarming expression as James Potter stomped in front of his desk and slammed both hands down upon it. "Just what the hell is the meaning of this, Dumbledore?" the young mage growled.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean," Albus responded. Which was a complete lie; he knew exactly what James was talking about. He just wanted to see how much James knew.

"Don't fuck with me on this, Albus," James said, his voice dripping with anger. "You are on Lily and me for months asking, begging, pleading, and then demanding that we make contact with you, after you almost pushed us out the door at the beginning of the summer. Lily and I come back from where we've been since Harry was born to find . . . to find . . . what is this? We've been leashed? We've been caged?" He held up a piece of paper. "Both of our Apparition licenses have been revoked. The Floo Network Authority has been told to limit our access only to the Ministry and St. Mungo's. The Portkey Office has been told to deny any requests from us, or anyone associated with us, from registering for Portkeys anywhere. All of that, I have come to find out, done at your request upon your authority as a leading member of the Wizengamot. As if that wasn't bad enough, the goblins have somehow been convinced not to issue us Portkeys either, or allow us to use their Floos. _And then_ we discover that our Muggle passports have been put on some kind of watch list and Lily's driving license has been suspended. Add in the fact that I had to Stun and hogtie Daedalus and Emmaline just to get here and I think you know full well what I mean."

A momentary frown found its way onto the aged wizard's face. It did indeed appear that James and Lily had discovered all the ways he had attempted to limit their travel. He was not about to apologize for trying to keep them safe, but he did heave a heavy sigh. "James, please understand that I've done all this for you, Lily, and young Harry. To protect you."

"Protect us from what, exactly?" James ground out through clenched teeth. "Albus, you are a powerful and wise wizard, but you are absolutely terrible when it comes to just spitting out what's on your mind. You hold onto secrets like I hold onto my wife and son. Well that's not the way I operate. You say that you've done this to protect us; if there's some threat, beyond the obvious of course, to my family then you'd better fucking tell me right now or we're gone. And I mean _gone_ ; packed up, out of Britain, maybe out of this hemisphere if I can manage it. So talk."

"Not here," Dumbledore said quickly. "If you're agreeable, I will accompany you to your home, and we can discuss it there."

With nothing more than a fierce stare and barely perceptible nod, James turned and stormed out of the room. Albus sighed again before rising; with a swish of his wand his door was repaired as he walked out of it, following James to the Floos and then to his family home near Norwich. As Dumbledore exited the Floo into the well-furnished receiving room of the Potter ancestral home, he tried to formulate how much he would reveal to James and Lily. The truth, at least part of it, was probably the best approach, but he wasn't sure how to present what he knew in such a way as they would be willing to follow his lead without asking questions that would drive the conversation to places he didn't want it to go. That was easier said than done as both Potters were incredibly inquisitive, Lily much more so than James.

He pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind as he entered the sitting room to see Lily rising from the sofa that she had been sitting on, a small wrapped bundle with a head of black hair held in her arms. Albus couldn't help but smile as he beheld the infant cooing in his mother's arms. "And this must be Harry," he said as he approached Lily. Looking down at the babe he was stunned to see bright green eyes so much like Lily's staring back at him inquisitively before two little hands reached out to try and tug on his beard. He chuckled as he took a step back before the boy could really get a handful. "Lily, it is good to see you well."

"Albus," Lily said simply by way of greeting. "Perhaps now that you're here you can tell us what in the world is going on?"

Sobering quickly, Albus nodded and then turned back to James. "Is there anyone else in the house? Where are Mr. Diggle and Miss Vance?"

"I sent them home after I untied them," Lily responded. "Apparently they didn't much appreciate our treatment and went to cool off."

"And I trust that your protection spells are in place around the property?"

"Of course, Albus," James said testily, "now please explain all of this to us."

Drawing his wand, Dumbledore proceeded to erect a series of privacy and anti-eavesdropping spells, despite James's and Lily's assertions that the house was empty and the protective enchantments in place. Once he had completed the task, he beckoned them both to sit on the sofa while he pulled one of the stuffed chairs over to sit in front of them. Once all were seated, Albus closed his eyes and tried to figure out where to begin. _At the beginning_ the elder wizard thought, and then started his tale.

"This previous June I was witness to a true prophecy. I believe that this prophecy might refer to your young son, as it spoke of a boy born at the end of July. Unfortunately the prophecy also spoke of Voldemort, which of course gave me pause. It saddened me to think that one could be by Fate entwined, in whatever manner, with the Dark Lord before they were even born."

James raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Albus, I know that you have pretty much the same belief as I do in Divination, which is basically that it's a load of manure. Why all of a sudden the huge about face on this one?"

"I have little time for the reading of tea leaves and such, this is true," answered Dumbledore. "However, I am aware that true, honest prophecy does exist, and I am certain that I was witness to the recitation of such. What's more, I believe that Voldemort may believe in such a thing as well, and when he learned that young Harry might fit the conditions of the prophecy . . . well, I'm afraid it's painted a rather large target on the Potters' backs."

"Wait, how did _he_ find out?" Lily asked, her suspicion obvious in her tone. Albus took a deep breath.

"I had thought that I had the prophecy contained as only I was in the room with the Seer when it was spoken, and of course a true Seer does not remember what they say. It seemed safe to keep watch for one who might meet the conditions mentioned in the prophecy while still allowing everyone to live their lives; if the enemy does not know a piece of information then they cannot act on it, after all. However, near the end of October I discovered that at least part of the prophecy had been overheard by another and that it had made its way back to the Dark Lord. That was when I started trying to contact the two of you, as I believed that eventually Voldemort would come looking for you. Maybe not right away, but I was sure that he would take steps to erase any potential threat before making his final push for control. And that time, I fear, is fast approaching."

"Why?" Lily queried simply. "Why would he care? What does this prophecy say that would cause You-Know-Who to come after us?"

"That I will not say," Albus said firmly. "I believe the less people know the exact wording of the prophecy the safer it will be. Sufficed to say that what it does say is sufficient to draw Voldemort into hunting young Harry down and removing him as a possible threat to his ascendancy."

James closed his eyes and tried to focus his thoughts for a moment. Under normal circumstances he believed that Divination was complete nonsense, a con set up by charlatans and snake oil salesmen to relieve the gullible of their money. But if Dumbledore believed, shouldn't he take it seriously? And regardless if it was true or not, if Voldemort believed it then his family were in great danger. Thinking back, perhaps staying in Switzerland would have been the right call after all. "We can leave. We know someplace where we would be safe, where we could keep him away from Harry."

"I don't think that's a wise idea," Dumbledore said immediately. "Even if you could manage to leave the country undetected, Voldemort or his proxies would surely follow you wherever you went, and if you decided to hide in the Muggle world you'd not only bring the danger into that world, potentially exposing us, but you would be eschewing the protections of static magical protections, which can't be raised in a Muggle area, as well as quick access by the Order or the Ministry if you should need assistance."

"Well if you'd reinstate our Apparition licenses and give us some Portkeys we could easily solve that problem," Lily said, just a hint of anger noticeable in her voice. "We can take care of ourselves."

"I don't doubt that you can," Dumbledore responded, "but at least for the moment I feel it would be safer for you to restrict your movements to as little as possible in order to avoid giving anyone an opportunity to strike at you unawares. I understand that this must feel chafing, especially to two such youthful and vibrant souls as yourselves, but I truly believe this is the best plan at the moment. If something changes, we can examine alternative ideas to maintain your safety."

James and Lily spoke amongst themselves for a few moments while Albus waited patiently. He knew that he was asking much of the Potters; essentially asking them to put their lives on hold for only the possibility, however credible, that Voldemort would seek them out sooner rather than later. He also knew that should Voldemort ever manage to get a hold of them that there would be no quarter, not for James and Lily and not for their son, no matter that he was only a baby. The very thought both saddened and sickened Dumbledore; he had known even during his Hogwarts years that there was something off about Tom Riddle but he never imagined that he would become the despicable and depraved soul that he'd evolved into. Not for the first time, Albus idly wondered how different the world would be if he'd left the boy in the orphanage. He swiftly shook his head to banish the thoughts away; it did not do to dwell on things that could not be changed when both the present and the future demanded so much attention. As he settled himself once more, the Potters turned from their impromptu conference.

"Alright, Albus," James said, "we'll try this your way for now. You've not led us astray before, so we'll put our faith in you on this. But we reserve the right to take matters into our own hands should things get bad. And no more guards; it's bad enough feeling like a prisoner in my own house without actually having jailers. If you want you can place an alerting spell on the enchantments so you'll know if we're attacked."

Dumbledore let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, both of you. I truly believe this is the best way to move forward." And with that their conversation turned to happier things, like the wiggling baby who was once again reaching across the space between the sofa and the chair for Albus's beard, his green eyes alight with what the aged wizard could only define as mischief. _He's going to be trouble_ the old man thought to himself as the boy latched on and began to lift up and then tug on Albus's long white whiskers.

{-}

Tuesday 10 February 1981

"What do you mean you bought me someone to help?" Cindy Black had been a young girl during the height of the Civil Rights Movement in America, and as a result had a very black-and-white outlook on the concept of slavery, indentured servitude, and the general oppression of others. That outlook was 'not just no but Hell no.' To hear her husband state that he had noticed how much she was struggling to keep up with AJ and everything else and had bought her someone to help had hit all the wrong buttons in the determined woman, especially knowing how antiquated thought processes were in British Wizarding culture. She was hoping she had just misunderstood him; that happened a lot, especially when discussing things about the magical world. She just didn't have the breadth of knowledge about the world Sirius had grown up in, and Sirius often seemed to forget that.

Sirius, for his part, really had no idea what he had done wrong this time, having very little understanding of modern Muggle history and next to no understanding of modern American Muggle history. He thought he was doing something nice for his wife, a loving gesture to signify that he understood how much she was doing on the homefront with him often gone on missions for the Order or helping James talk to Wizengamot members (the Ministry being one of the few places James was allowed to go). She was being run ragged by running their small household and by AJ, and she was foregoing any movement on her going to law school until things had settled down. "I bought a house-elf to help around the house and with AJ," he said guardedly, turning slightly to the side in case protecting himself from her wrath physically became necessary.

"What, pray tell, is a house-elf?"

Sirius let out a breath of relief; of course she didn't know what a house-elf was. A simple explanation and things would be fine again. "Think of them as the best butlers, housemaids, and nannies you could ever want all rolled into one. Lots of the more well-to-do Pureblood families have them. They cook, clean, take care of children, pretty much whatever you need them to do. They're dead useful to have around."

"And how much do you pay a house-elf?"

Sirius misheard, thinking she'd asked how much he'd paid _for_ a house elf. "This one is young, so she's worth a little more. But it was still only 2500 galleons."

"Is that a year?"

"What?"

"Is that what you pay a house-elf per year?"

"Why would I pay for a house-elf more than once?"

"You mean you literally _bought_ another person?"

"Of course I didn't buy another person," Sirius said, aghast at the implication, and Cindy relaxed. Until: "I bought a house-elf."

Cindy blinked at her husband a few times before turning and storming through the door and into the kitchen of their small but comfortable house. Sirius looked around the room, not quite knowing what was going on but figuring that apologizing profusely to his wife would probably be on his To-Do list for the evening. If he could figure out what to say he was sorry for. "Bloody women," he muttered before following her into the kitchen. He stopped dead in the doorway, however, when he noticed the large kitchen knife in her hand that she was using to dice vegetables for the soup she was making. "Sweetheart . . . honey . . . love of my life. What did I do wrong that I need to apologize for?"

Cindy stopped cutting as her gaze lifted up to meet his. "You really don't understand, do you?" she asked, and at the shake of his head she shook her own. "Sirius, from the sounds of this it seems that you've bought a self-aware, sentient being. Do you understand how wrong that sounds to a Muggle, especially an American Muggle who lived through the race riots of the 60's?"

"Uhhhh . . . not really, no," Sirius responded sheepishly, raking his hand through his black hair.

Cindy sighed, laid down the knife, and turned toward her husband. "Sit, Sirius," she said, and he immediately took his customary seat at the kitchen table. Cindy spent the next 45 minutes explaining slavery and race relations in Muggle America, and the things that she had grown up with in one group's struggle to be treated as equals. As she explained it to him Sirius went through a range of emotions; shock, disbelief, anger, and sadness chief among them. As she finished her story both felt like they understood where the other was coming from.

"Okay, I get it now," Sirius said after he and Cindy shared a loving kiss. "But if we release her from service she will be seen as a disgrace. More than likely no other family would hire her, which would leave her very few options; basically she could work for Hogwarts, the Ministry, or St. Mungo's where she'd just be another cog in the wheel. Will you at least meet her, talk to her? Maybe we can work something out." Cindy pondered Sirius's request for a moment before agreeing, and with a smile on his face Sirius called out, "Kensy!"

At Sirius's call there was a small _pop_ and a being arrived in the room. She was short, maybe 75 centimeters, and she had a long nose and ears as well as huge bright blue eyes. She wore what looked to be a piece of curtain covered in a floral pattern and was nervously wringing her overlong fingers in front of her. "Master called for Kensy?" she asked in a high melodic voice.

"Yes I did. Kensy, this is my wife Cindy. Cindy, I'd like you to meet Kensy."

"Hello Kensy," Cindy said with a smile, "I'm very pleased to meet you."

"It is a great honor to meet you as well, Mistress," Kensy replied. "Is there anything you need Kensy to be working on?"

"No, not right now," Cindy replied quickly. "We wanted to speak to you if that's alright."

Kensy looked at her as if she did not understand, and indeed she really didn't. These were her Master and Mistress; whatever they wanted was okay with her. "Of course, Mistress," she said guardedly.

Cindy took a moment to try and formalize what she wanted to say before she began. "Kensy, how did you come to be here with us today?"

Kensy's head turned sideways, not unlike how a dog's would when it was watching something. "Master bought me and brought me home."

Cindy closed her eyes. _I walked right into that_ she thought to herself. "And how did you come to the person Sirius bought you from?"

The house-elf's eyes grew wide in understanding. "Kensy understands now, Mistress. Kensy is being sorry for being confused. Kensy is not being needed in the home in which Kensy was born, so when Kensy was old enough Kensy's first master sold Kensy to Master Derringer, where Kensy be learning more about how to be a good house-elf." Kensy's eyes dropped slightly. "Kensy had been there so long that Kensy was afraid Kensy wouldn't be finding a family." Her eyes then lit up and she looked over at Sirius with something Cindy could only describe as adoration. "And then Master came in today and now Kensy belongs to Master and Mistress."

 _This third person speaking stuff has got to go_ Cindy thought as she struggled to add pronouns in all the places Kensy has said her name. _For another time_ she thought to herself before re-joining the conversation. "Kensy, do you want to belong to us?"

"Oh yes, Mistress," the diminutive creature said excitedly. "Kensy has been wanting a family for a very long time, and now Kensy has one, with even a little one to look after," she continued, looking over at the bassinet in the corner that held a sleeping AJ. "Kensy promises to be the bestest house-elf ever, Mistress."

"No, Kensy, I didn't explain myself very well," Cindy said with a sigh. "Do you want to be a slave?"

"What is a slave, Mistress?" Kensy asked inquisitively.

"Well . . . a slave is a person who is owned by another person. The slave has to listen to their owner and obey them, and do any work that their owner tells them to do even if they don't want to. A slave does not get to choose where they live or what they get to do; their entire lives revolve around doing their owner's bidding."

"That is exactly what Kensy is wanting!" the house-elf said happily. "Kensy will be Master and Mistress's house-elf slave if that is what Master and Mistress want."

Cindy pinched the bridge of her nose to stave off the coming headache. Before she could continue, however, Sirius interrupted. "Cindy, let me for a sec?" At her nod, eyes still closed, Sirius turned to Kensy. "Kensy, why do you want to belong to us? Why do you want to cook for us, clean for us, do what we ask you to?"

Kensy thought for a second before she answered. "Masters and Mistresses be showing how much they be caring about their house-elfs by speaking kindly to them and letting them rest and giving them a place in their home. House-elfs be showing how much they be caring about their families by taking care of them. House-elfs be doing what we do to show our families that we love them."

"So, in the same manner that you see humans hugging, or giving gifts, or saying kind things to each other, a house-elf expresses those same sentiments by working hard?"

Kensy nodded at Sirius's question. "That was how Kensy's mother be explaining it to Kensy when Kensy was a younger elf. For house-elfs, there is nothing better than feeling needed by their family. It be making us . . . " Kensy struggled to find the appropriate word. " . . . it be making us whole."

"Crap." The simple comment made by Cindy let Sirius know that this particular fight was lost for her. She opened her eyes and smiled at Kensy. "Kensy, would you like to meet our son AJ and then help me finish dinner?"

{-}

Friday 22 May 1981

The Blacks' quiet Friday night was shattered by the loud incessant pounding on their front door. Sirius, wand drawn, carefully approached before peeking through the curtains of the front window to see who it was. His eyes widened as he quickly moved to throw open the door to admit James, Lily, and a screaming baby Harry.

"Prongs, what the hell is going on?" he said, examining the family. James and Lily's clothes looked torn and even scorched in a few spots and they reeked of smoke.

"They burned it down. That noseless cocksucker and his pathetic fucking followers burned the house down!" James said, trying and failing to get his breathing under control. "Three hundred years the Potters have lived there, and now it's nothing but rubble." He rubbed the heels of his hands into his eyes, as if trying to wipe away the image of his family home in flames as he, his wife, and his son ran for their lives.

Sirius turned to Lily, hoping that she might be able to provide more information; James seemed done in. "We were just about to put Harry down for the night when we saw a bunch of Death Eaters Apparate in. Before we had a chance to do anything, Anti-Disapparition was up and the Floo was blocked. And since Albus Fucking Dumbledore didn't allow us Portkeys, we ended up having the blow a part of the roof off and fly out on James's broom. Even then it was a close thing; they had shattered the enchantments and just finished surrounding the house and were letting loose with Fiendfyre."

"I'm going to smack that old bastard right in the mouth," James growled out. "We didn't leave the country because he said we would be better protected here. It sure as hell doesn't seem that way."

Any further conversation was interrupted by the Black's Floo igniting and a figure stepping through. "Padfoot!" Remus Lupin yelled into the house. "Dumbledore just sent me a message that the Potter house has been attacked. Have you heard from James and –" The werewolf stopped dead at the scene in front of him. It wasn't James and Sirius standing next to each other, the former looking singed and exhausted. It wasn't Lily who was holding a finally calm baby Harry.

No, it was the brunette standing with Lily, a black-haired baby in her arms as well; a baby that was obviously known to the Potters based on the way Harry and he were giggling and babbling at each other. "What the fuck?"

"Crap," Sirius said before walking toward Remus. "Okay, Moony, before you flip out, let me explain."

Remus could only move his gaze between Sirius, the unknown woman, and the baby, all brain processes seeming to have come to a screeching halt as his own explanations started swirling around in his mind. "Padfoot . . . wha . . . what . . . WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Despite the volume of the end of Remus's statement Sirius did not back down. "Remus, I don't know if you remember Cindy. You all met about a year and a half ago, the night of my 20th birthday."

Remus blinked rapidly, as if the action would clear up what he was seeing. "The girl from the bar?"

Padfoot nodded and, taking Moony's elbow, led him toward his wife and son. "Remus Lupin, I'd like to once again introduce you to Cindy. More formerly, Mrs. Cynthia Marie Black." Despite instinctively knowing what was going on, Remus's eyes bugged out at hearing confirmation of his suspicions; if anatomically possible they would have fallen out of his head at the next comment. "And this is Antares Jeremiah Black . . . our son."

Remus stared down at the boy, who stared back at him with Sirius's grey eyes. A happy gurgle escaped the baby's throat as he reached out to Remus while opening and closing his hands, as if asking the werewolf to hold him. Cindy, sensing both her son's desire and Remus's reluctance, came close and held the boy out to the older man, who took a step back. "No, I can't . . ."

"Yes you can, Remus," Cindy replied with conviction, following him as he tried to back away. "You'll do fine." She moved the baby into Moony's arms, who took him up tentatively at first. As soon as AJ was settled, however, he latched onto Remus's shirt with both hands, closed his eyes, and snuggled himself into the man's chest. Remus looked down at the now apparently content boy, most of his anger dissipating as a feeling that he'd experienced before welled up within him once again: when he'd first held James and Lily's boy in his arms a few days after the New Year. Here was another like Harry, the next generation of their odd and diverse family, and he gazed upon the boy with the same sense of wonder, caring, and protectiveness that he'd had the first time he'd held Harry. _Another pup_ the man thought, using the amusing diminutive he and Sirius used for Harry; Sirius because of his animagus form, Remus because of his condition. As five adults and two young children huddled together, all older eyes focused on the peaceful faces of both now sleeping boys, Remus only had one thing that he could say.

"I think it's time the younglings were put down for the night, and then you and I need to talk, Sirius Black."

{-}

After the boys were both put to bed, and several Floo calls to Dumbledore and the Ministry letting them know the Potters were okay, James, Sirius, and Remus all sat around the Black's kitchen table, each with not their first glass of bourbon of the night in front of them. Remus finally broke the awkward silence, one of the few the three friends had experienced in their almost decade of friendship. His question was simple, yet poignant and to the point; the hurt was clearly evident in the tone of his voice. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Being the one who had asked that the secret be intentionally kept from two of his best friends, it was Sirius who spoke. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Moony. We all knew that Dumbledore had you embedded with the werewolf packs, trying to at least get their neutrality if not their cooperation. I was afraid that if you were to be captured by the Death Eaters while you were with them that they'd torture the information out of you. We've already seen that Voldemort has no compunction against attacking families and children in order to get what he wants. No matter how much I love and trust you, and know that you would resist telling anyone with everything you had, I couldn't take that chance with my family. Not with things being as they are. I'm still terrified that Mother is going to eventually go into the sitting room, see the tapestry, and call Bellatrix to track me down; the only saving grace is that she almost never goes in there."

Remus nodded; while it had hurt him deeply to have found out about Cindy and AJ like he had, he really couldn't fault the logic in Sirius's statement. Given similar circumstances, Remus wasn't sure if he'd make a different decision than the one his friend had. "And Peter?"

"Peter doesn't know, and I'd prefer if he didn't know," Sirius said without hesitation; obviously he had given this a great deal of thought for him to respond so quickly. "I love Peter like a brother, but all of us sitting here know that if he were to be caught that he wouldn't last 2 minutes before he was telling everything he knew. Plus his Occlumency is shit, meaning that he wouldn't be able to keep it from even a novice Legilimens. And we all know that Peter has an unbecoming habit of getting excited and not thinking before he speaks, especially when he thinks he can become the center of attention; he could mention it in passing to someone and not even realize it. At least for now this stays between the 5 people in this house. No Ministry. No Dumbledore. No one else."

A loud sigh escaped the werewolf's lips as he had to grudgingly agree with everything Sirius had said. They all cared about Peter, but if Remus were honest with himself he knew Peter was not only weak but also not the sharpest knife in the drawer; it was safer that he didn't know. "So what now?"

James took a sip of his bourbon before being next to speak. "The Death Eaters burning the house down means that Lily, Harry, and I should probably go into hiding. They knew where the enchantments started and, by the speed they brought them down, seemed to know which ones they were going to run into; that means either the reconnoitered without alerting us or that rumor about a mole within the Order is truer than I wanted to believe. I think it would be best if, at least for a while, we kept moving around so no one can box us in. We'll stay in Muggle hotels, but without a Floo and with our Apparition licenses suspended that means we'll be out of touch for a while." A gleam came to James's eye, a look both of the other men recognized as the one he wore when he had a plan that was at least part prank. "Hopefully eventually we can find a new place that we like, and when we do hopefully while researching additional protections Lily happens to come across an obscure and difficult spell that hides the secret of a location's existence within the very soul of a person, and that she wants to use it to keep us safe." Sirius laughed out loud at James's idea; Remus for his part could only stare dumbly, not knowing that the _Fidelius_ Charm was already known to them and was protecting the Black's house in Switzerland. "As far as the information about Cindy and AJ, the only thing that's different is now both Harry and AJ have you as a protector should they need you," James finished, smiling at Moony to Sirius's heartfelt agreement of his words.

Remus looked up at both of his friends, the first and best friends the lycanthrope had ever had. These men were brothers, in arms and in spirit, and that made their sons his nephews. He would fight and, if necessary, die for them both without a moment's hesitation. Their pact, and their long and continuing friendship, was celebrated with a toast.


	6. Chapter 6

Monday 10 August 1981

Sirius struggled to bring himself back to consciousness, a painful ache behind his eyes and the rest of his body feeling like he'd gotten run over by a herd of erumpent. He was dimly aware of people around him, calling to him in panicked voices, but for the life of him he couldn't remember what he might have done that would have gotten him in a state where people should be worrying about him. He felt hands gently working their way through his hair, though, so he must not have done anything too stupid. A groan from deep in his throat signaled his return to the land of the conscious to those around him, and as he blinked open his eyes all of them immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "Sirius? Sweetheart can you hear me?" Cindy's voice sounded like she was much farther away than there beside him, his head sitting in her lap.

"Sorta," Sirius replied weakly. "What the hell happened?"

"I'm not sure," Lily responded from somewhere nearby. "We finished casting the ritual but as soon as I named you the Secret Keeper everything just went to hell. It . . . well it looked almost like you . . . you . . ."

"Imploded," James finished for his wife. "You puffed for and instant and then just collapsed in a heap. Right scary, mate."

"I don't know what went wrong," Lily continued. "I went over the runes and marking three times, and even checked with Flitwick that I was pronouncing all of the esoteric words of the charm correctly. It should have worked."

Sirius just nodded and closed his eyes again. "Where are we?"

"Back at the house," Cindy answered. "We didn't want to stick around in Godric's Hollow too long in case someone took notice of us."

Remus nodded his agreement. "Until the house is protected it's too dangerous to be out in the open like that."

A soft _pop_ announced the arrival of Kensy at Sirius's side. "Master is awake! Is Master alright? Is there anything that Kensy can be getting Master?" the little house-elf rattled off quickly.

"A glass of water and a Pain Relief Potion from the cupboard if you could, please Kensy," he said to her, and within 15 seconds Kensy had returned with the requested items. Professing his thanks Sirius gingerly sat up on the couch and downed the potion, once again thanking the universe that magic existed as he felt a great deal of the pain leave his body. He followed the bitter potion with the water to try and wash the taste out of his mouth. With a deep sigh of relief he looked back at the assembled group. "So what's next?"

"Well, first we start looking more into the _Fidelius_. We found the charm easily enough but there must be some background information we're missing. Maybe the Secret Keeper has to live at the location, or own it, or something like that."

"Speaking of that, why aren't one of you two the Secret Keeper? I never really asked."

"Well, it's pretty simple," Lily responded. "If we're under the charm, no one can find us. If no one can find us, how do we give the secret out to people without leaving the very protections that we're trying to build?"

"Can't you write it down or something like that?"

"Maybe, but that's a security risk to. If the Secret Keeper can write the secret down, and anyone who knows the secret can hand it to another person, what if the wrong person got their hands on the paper? Better to not write it down, or rather not write it down without the intent to immediately destroy the paper after whomever it was intended for has read it. Provided it can be written down at all," Lily answered.

"Yeah . . . we really didn't think through all the avenues very well, did we?" James said from the armchair.

"When do we ever?" Remus said with a small grin.

"I always thought it was Lily's job to inject some rationality into our 'cast first and ask questions later' mentality," Sirius jibed with a small grin.

"Hey!" Lily barked indignantly. "Don't blame this on me."

"Wouldn't dream of it, love," James responded easily. "Just saying; normally you're the one telling us to slow down and make sure we've got everything covered."

"Well excuse me for wanting to stop moving around every few days with a one-year-old," she muttered.

"Enough," Cindy spoke. "To the library?"

"To the library!" all four magicals in the room answered with gusto.

{-}

Friday, 11 September 1981

"Hey Prongs. Hey Lils," Sirius said happily as his friends came into the restaurant. They were meeting in a very nice café in York, pretty much as far away from all of their usual haunts as possible; it was how they kept security up while James, Lily, and Harry kept moving around.

"What do you know, Padfoot?" James asked as he pulled out a chair for his wife and then sat beside her. "Did you get something back from the guy who cast the _Fidelius_ on your place?"

"Yep," Sirius said, taking a brief sip of wine. "He did as I asked and didn't put anything too descriptive in the response, but he led me toward a book that had a lot of info. I had to wait forever for Flourish and Blotts to get it in; I guess not too many copies of it were ever printed, and they ended up having to get one from Afghanistan or something like that."

"And?" Lily asked a bit impatiently. She'd been on the run with a toddler for the last 4 months, and she was ready to get settled in somewhere.

"So we missed one vital piece of information," Sirius answered. "Apparently the nature of keeping the secret safe means that a soul can only hold one secret."

"And since you already are the Secret Keeper of one _Fidelius_ . . ." James began.

"Magical backlash," Sirius finished. The Potters nodded. "So . . . what now?"

"What about Remus?" James asked.

"Can't," Sirius responded. "The book had info on that too. I guess lycanthropy and being a Secret Keeper don't mix.

"Cindy?"

"Needs to be a witch or wizard."

"Well, damn," James sighed out.

"I have an idea," Sirius began. The two across from him looked on expectantly. "What about Peter?"

"Peter?" Lily said with more than a little wariness in her voice. "I mean, I know he's our friend, but do you really think he could hold out if the other side got a hold of him?"

"See, that's the beauty of it," Padfoot said excitedly. "The secret cannot be coerced out of you. It can't be gotten through Truth Serum or _Imperious_ or torture or even Legilimency. The Secret Keeper as to _willingly_ give the secret. I agree with you that Peter's not the most . . . stalwart of people. I've barely seen him these last few months, and when I have he's been skittish. Well, more skittish than usual," he continued, seeing the look James was giving him. "But he'd never betray us to the other side. So, we promise to put him up somewhere safe, with a few creature comforts, and Bob's your uncle."

"You know he's not going to want to be a target for the other side," Lily said quickly.

"Ah, but see here's where the master stroke of my plan comes in," Sirius responded while buffing his nails on his shirt. "We keep telling everyone that I'm the Secret Keeper. We shout it from the rooftops. No one would suspect Peter of being the Secret Keeper, and he's already scarce enough that no one will probably notice him disappear completely. They'll keep coming after me, and even if by some strange fluke they do catch me I can't give up the secret because I'm not the Secret Keeper. It's perfect."

James and Lily looked at each other before putting their heads together and whispering softly. Sirius just sat and sipped his wine, sure that they would see the genius of his idea. After a few minutes they broke apart and turned back toward Padfoot. "Alright," James said. "Let's talk to Peter and see what he thinks."

"It'll take a couple of weeks to set the casting up again anyway, so you have plenty of time to convince him," Lily added.

"No worries," Sirius said happily, putting his wine glass out to clink against theirs. "He'll agree, and everything will work out. I have a really good feeling."

{-}

Saturday, 31 October 1981

Sirius couldn't shake the bad feeling he was having that something wasn't right. He was very glad that he had already arranged to check on Peter tonight, because couldn't put his finger on it, but he just knew terrible things were approaching, and quickly. Cindy noticed his distractedness at dinner. "Sirius, what's wrong?"

Sirius blew out a long breath as he put down his fork. "I'm not sure, love. I just . . . can't shake this bad feeling. Everything should be settled; it's been a week since James, Lily, and Harry went under the _Fidelius_ ¸ so everything should be fine. But . . . I don't know . . ."

"Why don't you go check on them after seeing Peter," Cindy offered. She still hadn't met the last Marauder, per Sirius's wishes, but she'd heard enough from Lily to form an opinion. "Make sure he's alright, and then stop by Godric's Hollow and put your fears to rest."

Sirius nodded slowly. "Yeah . . . yeah, that's a good idea. You'll be okay here without me?"

"Sirius, you're gone all the time. AJ and I will be fine. Kensy will keep an eye on us, won't you Kensy?"

"Of course, Miss Cindy," Kensy replied quickly. She was standing on a stool next to AJ's high chair, playing Peek-A-Boo with the toddler who had already finished his dinner. "Kensy will always take care of her family."

"See, there you have it," Cindy proclaimed. "Go. Ease your worries, and then come home to me," she finished with a waggle of her eyebrows. They had been discussing it recently and had agreed that, as soon as things with the war died down a bit they were going to try for another child. As always, they were both very much enjoying the practice they were putting in in preparation for that attempt.

Sirius stood, came around the table, and kissed his wife deeply. Pulling back slightly, he cupped her face in one of his hands. "I love you. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I love you too. Be safe." With a nod he walked over, kissed AJ on the head, and walked out of the room. Cindy's smile fell as soon as he was out of sight; now _she_ was having a bad feeling. She heard his motorcycle roar to life, and then its sound faded as Sirius got further and further away.

"Please hurry, my love," she whispered to no one in particular.

{-}

There was no other word for it; the house was destroyed. To look at it, you could imagine some great deity from days long past having reached their hand down and ripped at the building in one massive swipe. The entire top right side of the once quaint country cottage had been blown away, the wreckage and detritus from what must have been a very powerful detonation of some type littering the once pristine garden leading up to the front door. Out of that same door came a giant of a man, nearly two men tall and more than that two wide, with long, unkempt hair, a similar beard, and black beady eyes with tears streaming from them. In his hands he cradled a toddler, who had only recently stopped his own crying and was reaching up for the man expectantly.

This was the scene that Sirius drove into, after having found no sign of Peter at the safehouse they'd set up and no sign that he had been taken by force. He had then ridden to Godric's Hollow as fast as his motorcycle could take him. It appeared he was too late. He screeched the bike to a halt and jumped off, running toward Hagrid.

"Sirius," the bass voice of Rubeus Hagrid said sadly as he held Harry in his arms.

"Hagrid," Sirius said as he came to a sudden halt. "What are you doing? Where are James and Lily?"

"In . . . inside," Hagrid managed to get out. He made a quick sob, a large teardrop falling onto the toddler in his arms, before continuing. "Sirius, they're . . . they're . . ."

"No," Sirius said resolutely. "They can't be. They just can't be." Sirius fell to his knees in front of Hagrid, his eyes wild and his hands pulling at his long black hair. "Dear Merlin, what have I done?" he whispered. He wanted to start crying and screaming at the same time, but he knew he couldn't yet. He had a responsibility. He unsteadily got back to his feet. "Hagrid, give Harry to me."

"I can't," said the large man simply. "Dumbledore said I's to take young Harry to 'im."

"Absolutely not," Sirius replied emphatically. "Harry is now my responsibility, and I'll not have you or Albus Dumbledore or Merlin himself telling me otherwise."

"But Dumbledore said –"

"I don't give a damn what Dumbledore said, Hagrid!" Sirius exploded, his temper finally getting the better of him. A cry from Harry immediately calmed him however, and after taking a second to collect himself he continued. "Two of the people I love most in this world are lying dead in that house, and they asked me to take care of that which was most precious to them should that happen. If Dumbledore wants to try and convince me otherwise, he can sure as hell carry his bony arse here himself and explain."

"Now see here," Hagrid responded hotly. "I'll not have you speaking ill of Albus Dumbledore in my presence, Sirius Black."

"Hagrid –"

"No!" the big man boomed. "Dumbledore gave me a job, trusted me with it. I'll not let 'im down. I'm to take Harry to 'im and that's that. If you think differently you can come along and make your case."

That was the right thing to do. Somewhere in his mind, Sirius knew this. He could explain to Dumbledore that he and Cindy were Harry's godparents, and they could take Harry and raise him as their own. He and AJ would be closer than brothers. Sirius's friends were gone, but he, Cindy, and Remus could tell Harry stories of them; ensure they weren't forgotten by the person that was more important to them than their own lives. That's what Remus would do. That's what Cindy would do. _Cindy_ he thought. _I should go talk to Dumbledore, and then go home to Cindy and AJ._ Yes, that was the smart thing to do.

But despite his intelligence, Sirius Black wasn't a man of the mind. He was a creature of impulse. Add on top of that being grief-stricken and emotionally shattered and he was running purely on adrenaline and instinct. And that instinct was telling him to find Peter. Peter must have turned; there was no other explanation for how someone meaning to do the Potters harm had made it past the _Fidelius_. He had betrayed them, and Sirius needed to know why before he extracted revenge for James and Lily from their 'friend.' He could always go to Dumbledore after, but he had to get to Peter before the rat did a runner.

Sirius nodded slowly to Hagrid before reaching up to Harry. The boy looked back at him, those green eyes as piercing as his mother's were . . . _as his mother's had been_ Sirius thought bitterly, his rage at Peter growing by the second. Two tiny hands reached out for Sirius. "Pafoo," the little one said sadly. More tears dripped down both men's faces as Sirius reached his hand out and rested it on Harry's head, careful to avoid the nasty looking cut on his right temple.

"Hey there, Pup," Sirius said back. "This is Hagrid, and he's going to take _very_ good care of you until I can come and collect you, okay?"

"K K Pafoo," Harry said back, obviously not understanding everything but having learned that you responded with 'okay' when someone said 'okay.' His little arms dropped back into the blanket Hagrid had wrapped him in.

"Hagrid, why don't you take my bike," Sirius said, pointing behind him at the motorcycle. "I can Apparate pretty much anywhere I need to go. I have to . . . to take a look inside . . ." Sirius's grey eyes stormed as he looked up at the half-giant. "Hagrid, I don't need to tell you to take good care of my Pup, do I?" he growled out.

"Course not," Hagrid replied. "I'm taking 'im to Dumbledore; ain't no place safer."

Sirius highly doubted that, but he just nodded before turning back to Harry. He leaned in and kissed the boy on the forehead. "I'll see you soon, Pup," Sirius whispered. He pulled his wand and cast a quick Silencing Charm around Harry so that the noise of the motorcycle wouldn't bother him. "Go, Hagrid. It might still be dangerous here." With a nod, Hagrid walked toward the bike while Sirius moved into the house.

The ground floor was a wreck, random things tossed about and more than a couple scorch marks on the wall. As Sirius came to the bottom of the stairs, his strength left him as he beheld James's body. He was sprawled unceremoniously across the first couple of steps, his unseeing eyes open as they were in his last moment on this Earth. He knelt next to his best friend, his brother in all but blood, and wept bitter tears over James's remains. "I'm so sorry Prongs," he sobbed out. "I never should have suggested Peter, that no good fucking rat." Sirius reached his hand out and closed James's eyes. "I'll get him for you, Prongs. For you and Lily and Harry. I'll make him pay for what he's done. Goodbye, brother." Sirius gently reached down and kissed James on the head before summoning a blanket from the couch, placing it over James's body, and heading up the stairs.

The cool air of the outside permeated the upstairs of the house, and as Sirius entered the nursery he could see why. As he'd seen outside, the entire roof and part of the side of the house for this room were blown away, exposing it to the elements. And there, next to Harry's crib, lay Lily Potter. Even in death she was beautiful, her red hair still shining, though her eyes had lost the brightness they had held in life. Sirius knelt over her, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Lils . . . I'm . . ." He didn't think saying 'sorry' again was the right thing to do here. "I promise we'll look after Harry," he decided on, knowing that Lily's only concern now would be Harry's well-being. "He'll be loved always, by me, by Cindy, by Remus . . . everyone. We'll raise him up right, and make sure he knows how much his parents loved him and that they died protecting him. Goodbye, sister." As with James, Sirius closed her eyes for the last time and placed a kiss on Lily's forehead before a blanket from the bedroom flew in at a wave from his wand and he covered her mortal remains.

Sirius stood, his grief overwhelming all other thoughts. He walked toward the hole in the wall and looked out, seeing a group of Muggles that had started to gather at the property line. As he continued watching, he heard the tell-tale sounds of Apparition before what he assumed were Aurors and the Obliviation Squad arrived to control the situation. With a final deep breath Sirius hardened his heart and pushed all other thoughts from his mind as he prepared himself to hunt a friend.

To kill a friend.

With a sharp _crack_ Sirius Black left Godric's Hollow, intent on finding justice. Or revenge. At the moment, he didn't care which.

{-}

Sunday, 1 November 1981, very early morning

Sirius's wand was out without conscious thought as he heard the stairs up to the safehouse Peter had been staying in creak. He stared out into the darkness, waiting to see who was approaching. "Padfoot, are you here?" came the voice of Remus Lupin, and Sirius's grip lightened as the wand came back to his side.

"In the sitting room, Moony," Sirius called back as he went back to flipping through a notebook he'd found. He looked up as Remus walked in, his own wand out and a stern expression on his face. "You heard, I assume?"

Remus nodded. "Dumbledore sent me a Patronus. I've just come from Godric's Hollow."

Sirius just nodded. "How did we miss this, Moony?" he said with an angry sigh as he slumped back into the old couch. "I mean . . . it's Peter. How did we not know? How could we not have seen?"

Remus sat on the windowsill and stared out the window toward the street. "I don't know, Padfoot. This war has taken so much from all of us, we had to put our faith somewhere. We chose to put it in our friend."

"We chose wrong."

"No argument from me."

"So what are we going to do about it?"

Remus turned toward Sirius. " _You_ should go home to your wife and son, and prepare the house for another little one."

"Hell no, Moony. That rat is going to die by my hand."

"Sirius, stop and think for a second!" Remus growled out. "You're not an Auror, or a Hit Wizard, or an Investigator. Let's give our statements and let the Ministry deal with Peter."

"Are you out of your mind, Moony? With as deep as the Death Eaters have infiltrated, if we let the Ministry deal with this he'll be out the back door and to the party faster than the paperwork can be filed."

"Sirius –"

"Forget it, Remus! You're not changing my mind on this!"

Remus just shook his head at the only best friend he had left. "One day your impulsiveness is going to be the death of you."

"No," Sirius said with conviction. "Not of me."

Remus closed his eyes and sighed. There was no talking to Sirius when he got like this; the best you could do was try to mitigate the damage. "Where do we start?"

A smile crossed Sirius's face for the first time since he'd left his house. He stood and clapped Remus on the shoulder. "I think we should split up. One of us should stay and watch here, and the other should go keep an eye on his mum's house in case he decides to go there."

"What about his flat?"

Sirius shook his head. "He was renting month-to-month, and didn't renew his lease. All of his stuff is here, for all the good it does us."

"Did you really think he'd come back here?"

"I don't know, Moony. I'm not sure I know anything anymore." Sirius had done a good job since leaving Godric's Hollow of not letting his soul-crushing grief and guilt get the better of him, but he was walking a very tight line, and sooner or later he was going to tip off. Remus recognized this, and took it upon himself to try and keep his surviving best friend upright.

"Alright. I'll take here, you take his mum's," Remus said finally. The werewolf figured that the odds were better of Peter coming back here, and he was hoping to get Sirius away so that he wouldn't do something reckless and stupid; like murdering Peter. Thankfully, Sirius nodded his assent and turned toward the door. He turned back, though, and walked up to Remus.

"The Black Family lives at Schönenberg 1, Olsberg, Rheinfelden, Aargau, Switzerland," Sirius stated simply. Remus cocked his head to the side, not understanding. Sirius explained. "The reason the _Fidelius_ failed, Moony, is because I already had a secret. When AJ was born, Cindy and I had to stay in Switzerland for a few months. So I bought a place there, and put every single ward and protection I thought made sense on it. I thought I was protecting them from my mother or, even worse, Bellatrix; it turns out I inadvertently gave us a bolthole. If . . . if something happens, Remus, I need you take Cindy, AJ, Harry, and Kensy and go there. Raise our pups up right, the way James and I would if we could."

"Sirius, stop talking like that," Remus choked out.

"Promise me, Remus John! All night I've had this feeling. I thought it was James and Lily, but it hasn't gone away. I . . . I don't know what the day's going to hold, Remus, and I need to know that my family will be looked out for."

"Then go home and be with them, Sirius," Remus pleaded.

"I can't. Not yet. If I do, I'm afraid this . . . this feeling will never go away. I'm already never going to forgive myself for suggesting that Peter be James and Lily's Secret Keeper. I wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror again if I didn't make this right."

"This is anything but right, Padfoot. Please, Sirius, I'm begging you. Go home."

"When it's done. Now promise me Remus." Sirius's grey eyes bored straight into Remus's soul.

"Goddamned stubborn impulsive jackass," Remus growled. "I promise, Sirius."

Sirius smiled, reached out his hand, and the two men clasped forearms like knights of old. With a nod, Padfoot turned and headed out the door toward whatever destiny awaited.

{-}

Tuesday, 3 November 1981

"This is wrong," Albus Dumbledore said sternly to Bartemius Crouch, Sr., the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"If you believe so then you should have accepted the Minister position instead of endorsing Millicent, or the Chief Warlock position instead of allowing Edmund to run unopposed," Barty replied just as crisply. "Until either of those things happen I, as the head of the DMLE, have been given broad-sweeping leeway to adjudicate against Death Eaters. And Sirius Black is the worst of them all."

"You don't know that!" Albus argued.

"Fact: Sirius Black comes from one of the darkest families of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Fact: Sirius Black was James and Lily Potter's Secret Keeper for a _Fidelius_ Charm cast upon their home. This has been corroborated by several witnesses who gave statements under oath that they heard such directly from Black. Filius Flitwick, your own Charms professor and a certified expert in the field, has given proof via an obscure, very complicated, and foolproof spell that Sirius Black carries a _Fidelius_ secret. Fact: James and Lily Potter are dead, murdered in their home by Lord Voldemort himself. Fact: Rubeus Hagrid remembers Sirius saying, and I quote, 'Dear Merlin, what have I done?' after arriving at their home. Arriving without being notified anything was wrong, I might add, leading one to wonder how he knew to be there in the first place. Fact: Sirius Black murdered Peter Pettigrew, a supposed friend and a member of your Order, along with 12 Muggles, in cold blood 2 days ago when Pettigrew confronted him on his betrayal. The man's last words were to ask why Sirius had betrayed them. Wrap all of that up with a bow and I'm more than within my mandate to imprison Sirius Black."

"Every man deserves the right to plead his case," Dumbledore said. He couldn't believe that Sirius had done what he did; he needed to hear it from the man himself to try and understand why. That was exactly what Barty didn't want, though, and he made that very plain with his response.

"I'll not give that man a soap box to stand on and continue espousing the ways of the Dark!" Barty almost yelled across his desk. "The man is a murderer, a betrayer, and a Death Eater. He has turned his back on _everything_ that is good and right in the world and I will see him into the deepest darkest hole I can find!"

"Barty –"

"No, Albus! My decision is final! Sirius Black has had summary judgement passed on him by me, per the Blood War Emergency Powers Act." Albus knew all of this, of course, but Barty couldn't help rubbing salt in the wound, taking a certain perverse pleasure in one-upping the most powerful wizard in Britain. "As the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, should I deem a suspect too dangerous or potentially damaging to stand trial in open court, and should I deem there to be a preponderance of evidence signifying that suspect's guilt, unless the Minister or the Chief Warlock override me I may find the suspect guilty and pass sentence as I see fit. Millicent and Edmund are behind me on this Albus. You may be the Vanquisher of Grindelwald but you have _no_ power here. This decision is _mine_ and I have made it. Sirius Black will never see the sun rise as a free man again."

{-}

Wednesday, 4 November 1981

"Remus, what's happened?" Cindy asked when Lupin made it back to the Black's house. The man had a look on his face as if he'd witnessed a lifetime of atrocities all in one day.

Remus flopped down on the couch, tilted his head back, and closed his eyes. "Sit down, Cindy," he said simply. He waited for her to comply before he began. "Sirius is in Azkaban."

Cindy put her hands to her mouth in shock. The magicals in her life had explained the Hell on Earth that was Britain's wizarding prison, and the thought of her lover in that place send shivers down her spine. "When is his trial?"

"He's not getting one."

"What do you mean he's not getting one? How can they just throw him in prison and not give him a trial?" The shivers down Cindy's spine worsened so much that her body began trembling.

Remus looked at her, the sorrow in his eyes clear. "The Wizengamot passed an emergency powers act a few months ago, when Death Eaters were getting released because there were so many trials that they were being held longer than was legal. The powers gave the head of the DMLE himself the power to adjudicate cases where it was certain beyond a reasonable doubt that the person would be found guilty should they be tried in front of the Wizengamot."

"That is utter bullshit!" Cindy screamed. "A judiciary exists for the sole purpose of _preventing_ one man from having power like that!"

Her yells seemed to have upset AJ, who began crying in the other room. The two adults quickly heard a high-pitched but pleasant voice start to sing a soothing tune; Kensy always knew how to calm AJ down. Hearing her son's cries helped Cindy to calm herself. There was no need to upset her boy; she was plenty upset for the both of them. Despite dreading the answer, Cindy had to ask the question. "How long is his sentence?"

Remus answered in a quiet, strained voice. "Life without the possibility of parole."

Cindy's tears started in earnest. "We need to go to this man. Tell him that Sirius is innocent."

"He won't listen."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because you're a Muggle and I'm a werewolf," Remus answered tiredly. "Barty Crouch isn't a bad man per se but he has no tolerance for non-magicals or Dark creatures. As far as he's concerned, our testimony wouldn't be worth the paper it would be written on. If Sirius hadn't killed Peter then we could have probably used him to try and get Sirius a trial, but that avenue is obviously closed to us. With every other wizard or witch who knew Sirius wasn't the Secret Keeper dead, and no solicitor that will take his case because the head of Magical Law himself has said he's a Death Eater, there's nothing either of us can say that will change Barty's mind."

Cindy stood from her chair and began pacing in front of the windows that faced the front garden. Her mind whirred at the events of the last 5 days as she desperately tried to both come up with a plan and not lose it and become a blubbering mess on the floor. Hearing Kensy's continued humming from the next room brought another topic to the front of her mind. "Remus, what have you been able to find out about Harry?"

A small smile crossed the werewolf's face, the first in days. "On that front I've had more luck. I feel a bit bad about tricking Hagrid, but in this case the ends justify the means. He told me that he took Harry to Dumbledore in a town in Surrey. I did a little digging around and found out that Lily's sister Petunia lives in Little Whinging with her husband and a son about Harry and AJ's age. If I had to guess, I'd say that's where he is."

"Good. The solicitor submitted James and Lily's wills to Probate this morning. As we had discussed with them, Sirius and I are named as Harry's guardians. I'll call him up and let him know what's going on, and as soon as the wills are deemed valid I'm going to go get my godson. I may be helpless to help my husband, but there's nothing that will stop me from this."

"There's one other thing, Cindy." She cocked her head in question. "Sirius made me promise that if something happened that I would take the three of you and go to the house in Switzerland."

"He told you the secret?" Remus nodded, and she began pacing again. "That impulsive hypocritical moron," she hissed. "I wanted all of us to stay there, to hide from the war. He told me that he would feel like a coward if he did. Now, after all the shit has already hit the fan and, at least from what you're telling me, the war is over, he expects me to run." She turned toward Remus. "I won't run, Remus. I won't abandon him." _Not like he abandoned me_ she thought bitterly.

"I'm not saying you should abandon him, Cindy," Remus replied immediately, standing from the couch. "I'm not saying we should give up the fight. But if we are going to do anything, we need plan. This is not something that can be done in a few days, or probably even a few years. It breaks my heart to say it, but we need leave Sirius where he is and regroup. We need the law on our side, and more than likely we will need a powerful patron or two who will make the Ministry stand up and take notice. We need someone the Ministry would be terrified to cross; they know that Dumbledore is all bark and no bite, and Barty has already shot him down, so we need to think bigger. And that means we need to think internationally; someone from the European Cabal or the ICW if we can swing it.

"And the boys will not be safe here," Remus continued. "Harry will be a target, either of leftover Death Eaters or people who will want to cash in on his fame. And if the wizarding community here ever learns of AJ before we exonerate Sirius he will be vilified, to say nothing of those who would hunt him for being the blood heir to the Black fortune. People have murdered children for far less money than someone like Lucius Malfoy's son would stand to inherit should both AJ and Sirius die. Better to raise them somewhere not only safe, but where the names Potter and Black mean nothing, or at least much less than they mean in Britain. We can't afford to be emotional or reactionary with this, Cindy. The lives of everyone left that we love almost literally hang in the balance."

Cindy stared hard at the man in front of her. What he was saying made perfect sense; she could imagine it would almost verbatim be the advice her father would give her. That didn't make it any easier to swallow, though. But she couldn't let her fears or her pride or her anger dictate the next move; she had to be rational, logical, and methodical about this if she was to get Sirius back. Slowly, she nodded at the werewolf. "Alright. Once we have Harry we'll go."

Remus nodded back at her, glad there was at least one Black willing to listen to reason. "Once we have Harry."

{-}

Thursday, 10 December 1981

"Who the bloody hell is that at the door at this hour," Vernon Dursley growled as the doorbell rang. Whoever it was was interrupting a perfectly good breakfast and had set off the little brat that had been dropped on their doorstep a month ago. The little black-haired menace was carrying on from the cupboard under the stairs; if they hadn't insulated the door he was sure whomever had come to call would have heard. "Petunia, quiet the boy down while I see who it is," he said as he forced his substantial girth out of the dining room chair. He gave Petunia a moment to yank the toddler out of the cupboard, nearly smothering him in blankets to keep the volume of his crying down, and quickly made her way up the stairs as Vernon came down the hallway to answer the door. He reached it just as the bell rang a second time, and he angrily threw the door open and yelled "What!?"

"Vernon Dursley?" asked a man in a crisp Savile Row suit who was standing on the stoop.

"Err . . . yes?" Vernon answered, his demeanor changing the instant he recognized the suit. "You do realize it is quite early for visitors."

"Of course, Mr. Dursley, and I do apologize, but my clients figured the sooner the better in this case."

"Err . . . clients?"

"Yes. Forgive my manners. My name is Anthony Masterson, and I'm a junior partner at Linklaters and Paines." Behind the solicitor, hidden from Vernon's view, Cindy smirked. Remus had relayed stories from Lily describing how the Dursleys felt about money and power, and so it was strangely fitting that a friend she had made during her law classes at University College had managed to make junior partner at one of the most prestigious law firms in London, and that friendship, along with Sirius's inheritance, was more than sufficient to keep him on retainer. "I am to understand that you are currently housing a minor child within your home by the name of Harry James Potter. Is that correct?"

Vernon's demeanor soured. So this was about the boy. "What's it to you?"

"Well, it would seem that the child has been placed with you by parties unknown in direct contravention of the Last Wills and Testaments of his parents, James Henry Potter and Lily Anne Potter. I represent the boy's proper legal guardians, and I'm here assist in them gaining their legal rights to young Mr. Potter."

"You want to take the boy away?" Vernon said, trying very hard to keep the glee out of his voice.

"That is my intent, yes sir. And my clients have advised me that, should you refuse to acknowledge their legal rights that I am to immediately begin proceedings of kidnapping against you and your wife."

"I assure you that won't be necessary," Vernon replied immediately, his ample insides beginning to dance merrily at the thought of being shot of the boy. "As you said, he was placed with us without our approval, and so it is only right that he go to his legal guardians. Would you be taking him right away?"

"That is our intent, yes sir."

"Excellent, excellent. Just give me one moment and I'll have my wife bring him down." Vernon nodded before closing the door, immediately looking up to the ceiling and giving a prayer of thanks to whomever was watching that they now had a way to dump the brat in someone else's lap.

On the other side of the door, Anthony turned to see a smiling Cindy McClellan . . . Cindy Black . . . standing behind him. "That was easy," he said to her.

"I didn't imagine it would be difficult, not with you standing there in a suit that costs as much as that car over there and talking about taking them to court. Ten will get you twenty that they don't even want him to begin with."

"I wonder how much that would change if they knew how much the boy had inherited," Anthony replied. He had worked with a solicitor from another firm he had never heard of, and couldn't even remember the name of come to think of it, to get the Potter wills through Probate, so he knew that the young Mr. Potter had been left a substantial amount of money from the estate of his parents.

"Doesn't matter. I'm his godmother; he is coming with me," Cindy replied with conviction.

"Sorry, Cindy, I never meant to imply otherwise."

"I know Andy, I know. I've just . . . been on edge the last few weeks with all of this."

"Perfectly understandable," Anthony answered just as the door opened again to reveal Vernon, Petunia, and little Harry. As soon as Cindy saw him she rushed forward, taking him unceremoniously from a huffing Petunia's arms and holding the young boy close. Harry, for his part, reach out his hands at the sight of her and began babbling happily in a mixture of real words and baby speak at her. The two moved away as Anthony turned back to the Dursleys. "I believe that concludes our business. Good day, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley," he said briskly before turning and heading to catch up with Cindy before the couple could respond. He couldn't help but hear the whoops and cheers that came from the other side of the door once it had closed, and he shook his head as he approached the car.

"Did they ask for a copy of the paperwork?"

"Nope, and I didn't offer, as you requested."

"Thanks, Andy. I'm sure they don't care about it being legal, they just wanted to be rid of him. And I'd prefer that if whoever gave Harry to them comes to call that they don't know who took him."

"You're playing this one awfully close the chest, Cindy."

"With good reason, Andy. I'm sorry I can't explain all of it."

"No need. Your confidentiality is ensured by our agreement, and if I don't know I can't be made to tell."

"Exactly," she said as she leaned down and gave Harry a kiss on the forehead, making the little boy laugh. "Let's go home, Harry. We have _lots_ to do."


	7. Chapter 7

Wednesday, 16 December 1981

"Thanks for coming, Andromeda," Remus said as he turned out of the doorway to allow the Tonkses into the house. Andromeda was followed by her husband Ted, who in turn gave way to an adorable 7-year-old girl with bright blue hair. "This must be Nymphadora," Remus commented, and then quickly yelped as the girl kicked him in the shin.

"Don't call me that!" the little girl yelled.

"Nymphadora Alexandria Tonks!" Andromeda said sternly. "Apologize."

Nymphadora put her head down as she swayed her body side to side. "Sorry," she said meekly. "I just really hate my name. I can't understand why Mum and Dad decided to call me that."

"Well I personally think it's a very pretty name," Remus said, to which the girl dug her chin deeper into her chest and blushed brightly. "But since you seem to be adamant about this, may I call you Dora instead?"

She shot her head up to look Remus in the eye before smiling. "Dora. Dora . . . I like that. Thanks Mr. Lupin!" The newly christened Dora Tonks immediately turned and headed toward the sitting room. All Remus could do was chuckle at her retreating form.

"She's going to be trouble," Remus commented off-handedly.

"Don't I know it," Ted said with a smile. "Especially with being a Metamorphmagus. We'll never be able to keep a track of her."

"Remus," Andromeda interrupted, "you said you had important family business to discuss."

"Yes, of course," the werewolf answered. "Let's move into the sitting room. There are a few people I'd like you to meet, and a couple of favors we need to ask of you." The adults moved into the sitting room and all felt their hearts warming at the sight. Dora had baby Harry in her arms and was twirling him around the room as if they were dancing. Her hair and eyes had changed to match Harry's and the toddler seemed to be having the time of his life as he laughed happily. "I see Dora has already met Harry."

"Harry?" Andromeda asked. "That's Harry Potter?"

"It most certainly is," Remus replied, walking further into the sitting room toward the couch were Cindy and a waiting-for-his-turn-to-dance AJ sat. "I'm not sure if you were aware, but Sirius is Harry's godfather." If that took Andromeda by surprise, Remus was sure the next couple of revelations were going to knock her out of her socks. "This," Remus continued as Cindy stood up with AJ in her arms, "is Harry's godmother Cindy."

Cindy placed AJ in Remus's arms before walking over to the Tonkses and putting out her hand. "I'm very pleased to meet Sirius's favorite cousin. I'm Cindy Black."

Andromeda could only blink at the woman, her mental processes having screeched to a halt at the last name. "Cindy . . . Black?" she said haltingly as she took the other woman's offered hand.

"Yes. I'm Sirius's wife."

"WHAT!?" Andromeda couldn't help her outburst. Cindy only smiled.

"Sirius and I celebrated our one year anniversary this past June, only a few days before this one's first birthday," Cindy said, indicating that Remus should bring AJ forward. "This is Antares, my and Sirius's son."

Now that she looked at the boy, the evidence was nearly undeniable. He had the black hair and grey eyes that every male Black for the last 15 generations had carried, and even at the age he was Andromeda could see some of Sirius's features in him. She couldn't help the smile that crossed her features as she beheld AJ. "The Black name will survive at least another generation," she sighed in contentment as Remus offered her AJ to hold. Just because she had been disowned by the Blacks for marrying Ted did not mean that she had disowned the Blacks, and so the fate of her birth family mattered a great deal to her.

"That's one of the things we want to talk about," Cindy said, moving back toward the couch so the adults could sit down. "I wanted to ask you what you thought about Sirius's situation."

Andromeda looked up at her. "I understand that Barty passed summary judgement; of course he's the only one that self-serving bastard did it to. Even Bellatrix apparently is going to get a trial come the New Year, and not only is there enough evidence to lock her away for a hundred lifetimes she admits every heinous act with pride. As for Sirius, he and James were as close as brothers, and now you tell me he's Harry's godfather. I find it very hard to believe he would do such a thing as betray the Potters."

"That's because he didn't," Remus said. "Peter was the Secret Keeper."

"Have you told Barty that?" Ted asked in wide-eyed shock.

"The only living people who have first-person knowledge of the truth are myself, Remus, and Sirius," Cindy replied. "They won't listen to Remus because of his . . . condition, and they won't listen to me because I'm not a witch."

Andromeda's head shot up. "You're a Muggle?" At Cindy's nod Andromeda couldn't help but chuckle. "Sirius finally found a way to one-up me in the 'pissing off the family' department."

"And it's the family that both concerns us and that we need to protect," Cindy answered. "You mentioned your sister Bellatrix; I've read that she was arrested for torturing another young couple who were somewhat close to the Potters and had a young son of their own. Your younger sister Narcissa is married to a man who Sirius's most flattering comment on was that he was, and I quote, 'a complete asshole but an impeccable dresser.' And Sirius's mother is a psychotic bigot who wouldn't hesitate to drown me and my son in the Thames to hide the shame of our existence.

"We need to get AJ and Harry out of Britain before people come looking for either one of them, but we also need eyes and ears here so that we're not left completely in the dark as to what's going on. We'll have to return at some point; we don't plan to let Sirius rot in Azkaban forever, and sooner or later someone is going to wonder what became of Harry Potter, the 'Boy-Who-Lived' or whatever stupid name the press is calling him this week. We'd like the two of you to be those eyes and ears. You're the only people left that Sirius completely trusted, and so in turn you'll be the only ones left in this country that I trust."

Dora came over and traded Harry out for AJ and went back to her dancing. That and Kensy bringing everyone something to drink gave Andromeda and Ted a chance to think about what Cindy was asking. There wasn't any real danger to it, either to them or to Dora, and the woman in front of her and the toddler now in her daughter's arms were family now. The decision was a fairly easy one. "Of course we'll help, Cindy."

"Where will you go?" Ted asked.

"Generally Central Europe. It's probably better you don't know specifics right now, at least until we're settled and things have cooled off some," Cindy answered. "However, until circumstances warrant we won't be returning to Britain for any appreciable length of time, and so we have another favor to ask, hopefully one that won't be too much of a hardship on you."

"And that is?" responded Ted.

"Remus tells me that the three of you are living in a small rented flat in Muggle London. I'd like for you to move in here so that we still have someplace to return to when we finally come back to Britain. Sirius's inheritance from his Uncle Alphard paid for it, so there's no need to charge you rent if you'll cover the sundries. I'm led to believe you two are working toward saving up for a place of your own; hopefully this solution can solve both of our problems."

Again, this seemed like a no-brainer decision and the Tonkses's agreement came swiftly. A few more plans and housekeeping items were passed back and forth between the adults until Harry climbed down from Cindy's lap and toddled over toward Dora and AJ, who were now seated on the floor a short way away with Dora trying to show him how to stack his blocks instead of just smashing them together and laughing his little baby laugh. "There's about the same age difference between them as there is between Sirius and myself," Andromeda commented. "I do so hope that their relationship follows along a similar trajectory." She turned back toward the others. "Sirius is the only member of my family who stood by me when I married Ted. He's the only one who sent congratulations when Nymphadora was born. I may have had two sisters but I love Sirius like the brother I never had. We will stand with you, Cindy. Whatever we can do to help you, Sirius, AJ, or Harry, you just let us know and we'll be there. Family doesn't desert family."

{-}

Monday, 2 August 1982

Albus Dumbledore sat down in the comfortable chair in his new office and contemplated his new situation. The events that had transpired at the end of the war, particularly the tribunals Barty had presided over using the authority he had been granted by the Blood War Emergency Powers Act, had filled the aged wizard with an anger that he didn't know he could still feel. Sirius's was the first and only case Barty had adjudicated the way he had, without inquiry or oversight, and not only had Sirius not been granted the chance to defend himself but it was also the only adjudication so far where the person was not known to be an active, died in the wool Death Eater. Albus was convinced that, despite what Sirius was accused of, a travesty had been committed not allowing the man to explain himself, the right to a defense being one of the basic tenants of the law. Albus wasn't sure what made him believe that there was more to Sirius's story, but something just on the edges of his subconscious was telling him it wasn't the cut and dry (and if Albus was being honest with himself, pretty viable) explanation Barty had put forward, and he was itching to find out what it was.

He therefore had taken Barty Crouch's advice and put his name in the hat for the Chief Warlock position, and such was the esteem that he was held that the incumbent Edmund Greengrass had stepped aside. The vote had been unanimous, with even those members of a darker persuasion not daring to stand against the man who had defeated Grindelwald and who had stood toe to toe against Voldemort and his Death Eaters during the war against the Dark Lord. It gave Albus a sort of vindictive pleasure that some of the people on the Wizengamot who voted for him more than likely actually _were_ Death Eaters.

For his part, Albus hadn't wanted anything to do with the political arena; he was afraid that the power of being a political leader might be too much of a temptation. However, with the war's end he had seen things starting to slide back into the way they had been; bigotry and corruption were threatening to rear their ugly heads once again, and Albus was determined to do his best to prevent the conditions for another civil war. Being the Chief Warlock also automatically made him Britain's representative to the International Confederation of Wizards, so hopefully he could also keep track of what was happening around the globe and try to make sure that no one like Gellert or Tom ever rose to prominence again. It was a lofty and perhaps unattainable goal, made more difficult by the balancing act that those two positions plus being Headmaster of Hogwarts created, but with a century of life under his belt he thought maybe just imparting wisdom to the generations after him at school wasn't enough. Maybe it was time he reached beyond his comfort zone in order to try and do more to make a better world to hand to those generations.

Unfortunately, he was being stalled in his very first task; trying to get Sirius a trial. Everyone had read the papers and heard Barty (prior to his meteoric fall from grace) prattle on about how he had put the worst Death Eater of them all, the wolf in sheep's clothing, away and saved them all from allowing him to spew his dogmatic vitriol at them. Even with Barty now lessened because of his own Death Eater son he still held sway with many powerful people, and Albus was being blocked from all sides. It was clear that he needed more than the position of Chief Warlock; he needed time to build more political alliances, a Minister that did not have drinks with Barty Crouch every Thursday night, and a head of Magical Law Enforcement that wasn't afraid to upset the apple cart. That . . . could take some doing.

At least he'd managed to get Harry away before too much of the end-of-war insanity had started. The boy was safely tucked away with his relatives in the Muggle world until it was time for him to attend Hogwarts. Albus could see his new set of responsibilities taking up nearly all of his time when not running Hogwarts, so not having to worry about Harry's well-being was one less thing on his now almost comically long to-do list.

If he had known the truth of things the top of that list would likely have looked very different.

{-}

Tuesday, 25 January 1984

After having moved to the house in Olsberg both Cindy and Remus had continued along the paths to their desired goals; protection for the boys, freedom for Sirius, and, if there was still time, a little bit for themselves. Remus Apparated back and forth to Zurich, where he was taking advanced coursework in Defense while surreptitiously asking around about making friends in high places; thankfully Switzerland cared not a lick if you were a werewolf, which suited Remus just fine. Cindy had decided to spend time raising the boys (with the help of Remus and, of course, Kensy) while perfecting her German and learning French, so that she could go back and get her law degree once the boys started primary school. After that would be whatever qualifications were necessary to practice law in the magical world, and then she was going to get her husband back. She understood that freeing Sirius was going to take time, effort, the help of someone powerful, and more than a bit of luck. However, she was determined to have the father of her child returned to them, even if it took her entire life.

After a bit of discussion, they had decided that they needed to build a second house that was as close to the first as the _Fidelius_ would allow; it wouldn't do any good for the post, schools, or the government not to be able to find them. While there was still enough from Sirius's inheritance to live on without having to work, him having bought two houses before he was sent to Azkaban had put a serious dent in those coffers. Therefore, they had used Harry's inheritance, which had actually been pretty substantial thanks to his grandfather Fleamont, along with the money given to the Potter estate by the Ministry in compensation for turning their house in Godric's Hollow into a landmark, to cover the construction costs of another modest but comfortable house on the very next plot over from number 1, which of course no one else could remember even existed. They still spent most of their time in number 1 though; the other house was really just for appearances for now and wouldn't get a whole lot of use until the boys started school. Far from a second house being a burden, it actually made one member of their family very happy; Kensy now had two houses to keep up, which seemed something akin to Nirvana for a house elf.

Over time, one thing that continued to bother both Cindy and Remus was the fact that the jagged cut on Harry's forehead did not seem to want to heal fully. It didn't bleed or become infected, but it stayed raw and red, and even almost a year after it had been inflicted did not appear to have lessened one bit. They didn't believe that a doctor would be able to help them figure out what was going on, since the cut was caused by magic, but the issue at hand was that they couldn't go to any magical healer in Europe about it; their fear of being discovered by people loyal to Voldemort stayed their hands. And so they had let it be while they tentatively put feelers out, Remus trying to glean any hints he could from the magicals in Zurich as to someone who might have the information they sought. They just didn't know what to do, but the events of this particular day had seemed to both force them to action and introduce yet another oddity to figure out.

Two three-year-old boys were in the sitting room, not unlike any number of other days they had spent. Cindy was on the couch with a book on common law terms in German, and the boys were at a little table in front of her with paper and paints and seemed to really be enjoying themselves. As Cindy drew the steaming mug of spiced cider Kensy had provided to her lips, she looked down to see what the boys had been painting and almost dropped the hot drink into her lap. Harry's drawing was about what you would expect for a boy his age; a big yellow blob that was probably meant to be the Sun, a big greyish blob with red on top that she thought was supposed to be their house, and several orange blobs that were meant to be people. AJ's drawing, on the other, was something that should have been impossible for him to draw.

On one side of the paper was an orange circle with a telltale lightning bolt shape on it. The other side had what looks like a 2-tiered snowman, the lower chunk black and the top white. The snowman's eyes were two red dots, and AJ had drawn a light green line between a place near the top of the black body and the lightning bolt shape in the orange circle. She understood what her son had drawn, but she didn't understand _how_ he had come to draw it. Indeed, no one knew for sure what happened that night in Godric's Hollow, but the consensus was Voldemort had tried to kill Harry with a Killing Curse. It was something that was never talked about around the boys, so AJ should not have had any knowledge of it.

"Boys, those are wonderful drawings," she began, glad that her audience was far too young to notice the quavering in her voice. "Harry, that's a lovely picture of us all outside, and I promise that when it warms up we'll all spend lots of time doing just that. AJ sweetie, your picture is also lovely, but what made you decide to draw it?"

The little boy shrugged. "It's from Harry's boo-boo."

Cindy shook her head. "What do you mean sweetheart?"

"Harry's boo-boo showed me how he got it."

"And how did it do that AJ?"

"I dunno." AJ looked over at Cindy and caught her eye before he suddenly stood up and ran over to her. He patted her leg gently. "Don't be scared Momma."

Cindy was taken aback. "Why do you think I'm scared, honey?"

"You told me."

"When did I do that?"

"Just now, Momma. You said the picture of the weird snake-man and the green light scared you. You don't have to be scared, Momma; the snake-man went away."

Cindy wasn't sure how to process that. Of course she hadn't said she was scared, or what about. She had, however, _thought_ it. How did AJ know what she had been thinking? She looked at her watch and saw that Remus would be back to the house in a little under an hour, which was good; she really needed to run this by him and hopefully he had an explanation. "Oh I'll be fine, AJ." She put a smile on her face. "But you two have made a mess of yourselves making these masterpieces. Looks like it's bath time for the both of you."

"Mmmmooooommmmmaaaaa" both boys whined in tandem.

{-}

Friday, 6 July 1984

"So what have you been able to determine, Mato," Cindy said nervously. The months since the painting AJ had done of Voldemort attacking Harry had not been easy. AJ had started behaving ever more oddly; answering questions no one asked, complaining of migraine-inducing noise whenever they were in a public space, and waking up to repeated nightmares whose descriptions seemed beyond the experiences of a now four-year-old boy. Remus had his suspicions as to what was going on but was not a healer, nor did he have any idea what to do about it. It had been a couple of years since the name Harry Potter was on everyone's lips, and AJ was still unknown to the magical world at large (and Cindy reluctantly having gone back to using her maiden name to further hide who they really were), so they decided to take the risk of having both boys seen by healers; AJ for his troubles and Harry in order to determine why his scar wouldn't heal. To further cover their tracks they had decided to wait until they took a trip to see Cindy's family in America, and approached one of the native tribes in South Dakota, who according to what they could find not only had good magical healers but also were mostly isolated from the rest of the wizarding world, voluntarily avoiding contact in order to hold onto their traditions and the connection to their ancestors.

They'd been in the States for a little over a month and had been to see Eddie Grey Bear (known by 'Mato,' which means 'bear' in the Lakota language), a traditional medicine man, quite a number of times after introductions were made. He had examined both boys, fascinating Remus by his use of a medicine staff versus a wand and a number of traditional native rituals the likes of which probably hadn't been seen in Britain in hundreds of years. While certainly not what they were used to, Mato certainly seemed to know what he was talking about, and they had come back to the reservation to hear what he had to say about the boys.

"Well, let's start with young Antares," Mato replied to Cindy, his dark eyes seeking out Cindy's hazel orbs as he began his explanation. "Your son has a gift. Or a curse, depending on who you ask. He is what is known throughout the English-speaking wizarding world as a natural Legilimens. He is able to pick up the thoughts, memories, and emotions of everyone around him without needing to use a spell, and indeed at his age without even realizing that he's doing it. Natural Legilimens are very rare; I'm only aware of 2 others in the 20th century."

That had been Remus's inclination as to what had been going on, but he had not wanted to make that determination; best to leave it to an expert. "What can we do for him?" the werewolf asked.

"The best plan for him right now would be to keep him from No-Majes and large crowded areas while he learns Occlumency. I would also suggest that every member of your household learn the skill, so that at home he has a place that he can relax his mental guard. He, and Harry as well, are undoubtedly young to be trying to learn something that most adult mages are unable to, but there really is no other alternative if you wish him to lead as normal a life as possible."

"Cindy," Remus said, turning to the brunette, "Occlumency is a skill that has several benefits. For one, it blocks your mind from intrusion by others. It would keep AJ, or anyone else, from being able to read our minds. It also helps against most Compulsion Magic, which is another good thing. For the very skilled practitioner it increases memory recall, which will be useful once the boys start school."

"Are there any downsides?"

"Not really. It's an innocuous enough skill, but as Mato said not one that many people choose to practice because it requires a great deal of mental discipline to reach expert levels. You've had enough exposure to the magical world to understand that wizards and witches are inherently lazy."

Mato picked up the conversation. "Since Occlumency requires mental discipline more than anything else, thankfully it is something that No-Majes can reach at least marginal ability in. Without magic it would be nearly impossible to reach expert levels, but you should only need sufficient skill to allow AJ to relax his grip, so to speak. How long did you plan on staying in the US?"

"Well, neither me nor the boys have anything pressing, and I understand from Remus that he is in a sort of transition period in his advanced studies in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and they can be delayed if necessary. There is really no urgent reason for us to return if that would help the boys."

"I believe it most certainly would," Mato responded. "Several of us can begin all of you on the basics of Occlumency, which you can then take back with you an reinforce until you are confident. Occlumency is a lifelong learning process, improving and strengthening with time. While learning, it would be good for you to return once or twice a year for us to gauge your progress. I'm aware of one local member of the tribe who is a trained Legilimens; he would be able to test you and provide insight as to what you could do to improve."

"Alright," Cindy agreed. "What about Harry?"

"Ah," Mato said simply, "that is more complicated." At their confused looks, the medicine man explained. "It was fortunate, or perhaps serendipitous, that you came to us for help. Through study and quiet consultation with the tribal elders we believe there is some kind of Dark Soul Magic at work keeping the wound from healing. The fortuitous part is that the Sioux people just so happen to be well-versed and experienced in Soul Magic, though not of the darker variety we are witnessing within Harry."

"Dark Soul Magic?" Remus asked. "That sounds . . . ominous."

"Indeed it does, and there are concerns that I'm sure you're going to have regarding the treatment."

"Which is?" Cindy queried nervously.

"There is a rite that we perform in order to purify the soul of those who depart this life so that they might travel the Spirit Path and be reunited with the Great Spirit. However, to our knowledge it has never been performed in a situation like this, where it appears a tainted filament of an evil soul has attached itself to another person. In discussion with the elders, though, we believe that a version of the rite may be useful in purging and purifying young Harry's soul, releasing the filament to be judged by Maya Owichapaha while leaving Harry's living soul amongst us. However, it is not without great risk."

"What kind of risk?" Cindy immediately responded with.

"Again, as this has never been done we are not sure what will truly happen. It's possible that the departing filament will carry the boy's soul with it, making him lost to us until we also must travel the Spirit Path. Also, with him being so young, with not only a still developing mind and body but also with his still immature magic, there's no way of knowing what might happen; it could permanently damage either his physical or magical growth."

"So you're saying it might work, it might leave his body or magic crippled, or it may just outright kill him. Yes?"

"That about sums it up, yeah."

Cindy scowled as she contemplated Mato's words. "Are there any other alternatives?"

"There is a consensus among the elders that the older Harry gets, the closer he is to both physical and magical maturity, the better chances for success. It is the fact that he's not yet four that gives them a great deal of pause. There may be a temporary alternative, something that can be done to keep the filament suppressed until such a time as Harry feels he is ready to take part in the rite, but that would likely be over a decade from now."

"And what is this alternative?" Remus asked.

Mato took a deep breath before he explained. "Next week is the full moon, and we shall be conducting the _Wiwanyang Wacipi_ , the Sun Dance. It is our most sacred ceremony, a time when we pray for the sick, ask for guidance, and ask those who watch over us for strength not only for ourselves but for the tribe. Several of the elders and chiefs have offered to make the offering of flesh on his behalf, after which the magic released by that, combined with an additional ceremony of _Hunkapi_ , or essentially your adopting him in the eyes of our spirits, will be used in the creation of a totem charged with both the offerings of powerful wizards and your love for him as a son. It will protect him, containing and . . . compressing, for lack of a better term, the soul filament, which should both allow the scar to be healed and provide a stopgap while Harry ages, until the filament can be removed for good."

Cindy shook her head as Mato's words processed in her mind. "Why would the elders and the chiefs agree to this, for a boy they barely even know?"

"Cindy, even here, walled off from the rest of the wizarding world, the name Harry Potter is known. The curse of the Dark Lord was destined to spread, encompassing all he surveyed in a perpetual night. We are a people who believe in freedom and the natural order, and so regardless of what happened that night, whether it was Harry or his parents that brought about the defeat of the Dark Lord, we owe a debt that must be repaid. Even if we did not, however, no elder would wish to see a child suffer, and so the offer would still have been presented to you."

Cindy looked over at Remus who, though looking about as surprised as her, nodded at her. She turned back toward the medicine man. "We accept."

{-}

Friday, 13 July 1984

Three-year-old Harry Potter fought his way out of the potion-induced slumber he'd been in to the feeling of a hand running soothingly through his black hair. "Momma?" he croaked out groggily.

"I'm here, baby," Cindy replied softly to Harry, coming out of her recollections as she continued her ministrations, careful to avoid the bandage over the right side of the boy's forehead. "You were so brave, Harry. My brave little boy. Rest now, sweetheart." As Harry's eyes closed again, Cindy once more found herself deep in the memories of the previous day.

The four of them had stayed on the reservation, beginning their studies in Occlumency (which was a bit of a chore, trying to encourage a 3 and a 4 year old to concentrate) along with preparations for the full moon and the ceremonies Mato had mentioned. Thursday, D-Day, had started with a rite of _Hunkapi_ , 'the making of relatives.' During this first ceremony Cindy and Remus had undergone the ritual, becoming kin in the eyes of the Lakota and the spirits that they worshipped. This had not been strictly necessary, but the two of them had decided that they were already raising Harry and AJ together anyway, and any extra strength that could be granted to the later ceremony would be welcome.

As the day progressed and the Sun Dance commenced, Mato, several other medicine men, and a few of the tribal elders and chiefs had literally given of themselves, allowing themselves to be pierced by bone needles and tethered to the central pole of the dance circle asking for the strength to help the young man that had fast made his way into their hearts during his stay with them. Another rite of _Hunkapi_ had bound Harry to the Blacks and Remus in the eyes of the Lakota before they had then moved to a ritual devised by several of the elders. The offerings from the volunteers, along with small sacrifices from Remus, Cindy, and even little AJ, were combined with sacred herbs and imbued into the totem, an intricately inscribed amulet that Harry would have to wear all the time until his magical development reached a point where the chieftains and medicine men were confident the removal would not unduly harm Harry. The bonding of the amulet to him, and its subsequent effect on the soul filament, had allowed Harry's aura to wash back over the site of the scar and allow healing to finally take hold. Once the ritual was complete they had then healed the wound, leaving a very narrow scar that would never go fully away until the filament was removed for good. Still, it was better than the wide gash that had been there before; unless Harry tanned it was barely noticeable unless you were looking for it.

Tomorrow the four of them would leave Mato and his people, travelling back to her parents' home. They would make several more trips back to see Mato and his people before eventually heading back to Switzerland. While Cindy was looking forward to going home she knew that they would return to the reservation as often as was feasible, feeling both a mental and spiritual connection to those who had selflessly given of themselves to help her family.

{-}

Saturday, 1 February 1986

"Oh you have _got_ to be kidding me," Cindy exclaimed as she threw the parchment she had been reading on the table.

"Problems with something Andi and Ted forwarded from Britain?" Remus asked before taking a sip of the excellent coffee Kensy had made. Before leaving Britain Cindy and Remus had made a deal with Gringotts; for a small handling fee (per piece, of course; no bulk discount or flat fees from the goblins) they would have all magical mail sent to any of them (particularly Harry, who to date had received no less than 3,000 cards, letters, and/or gifts from a thankful populace) redirected to the bank, where it would be categorized and made safe before being forwarded to the house where the Tonks lived. Anything that seemed important Andromeda would store until either Kensy was able to make the trip to pick everything up or those in self-imposed exile made one of their semiannual visits to the family of three.

"Walburga Black is dead," the woman returned sternly.

"That's great!" Remus said; Sirius's mother had been a small but persistent boogeyman (well, boogeywoman) for them over the years as they did their best to both protect Harry and AJ and allow them to experience the joys of their childhood. Seeing the look on Cindy's face at his reaction, he changed his stance. "That's . . . not great?"

"Oh, no, don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that old hag is finally pushing up daisies, but this manifesto that she called a will is a bit much to deal with."

"What's it say?" he asked.

She handed the parchment over the table to her companion. "Read it for yourself." Remus took the scroll and started reading, skimming through most of the crazed Pureblood nonsense until he came to the part that seemed to have set Cindy off.

 _To my son Sirius, I leave my heartfelt apologies and the knowledge that he has been returned to a place of honor within our family. It is clear to me now that he was the truest Slytherin of his generation, and a credit to our cause. He even hid is true colors from his own family, just as a true Slytherin and a true Black would. He sacrificed years of his life allowing himself to be sorted with those ridiculous Gryffindors just so he could get close to those blood traitors and betrayers of the old ways, the Potters. While it may have been reported that Fleamont and Euphemia Potter died of Dragonpox, I am convinced that was just a clever ruse by Sirius to hide his first strike against that dreadful family. He then also feigned friendship, even brotherhood, with a hated enemy who struggled against our way of life, just so that he could bury the knife in their back at the opportune moment. Unfortunately, these accolades are all I can bequeath to him, as the weakling fools at the Ministry will not allow an inmate of Azkaban to receive the entirety of their rightful inheritance, and I refuse to give the government that allows Muggle lovers and half-breeds to co-exist with proper wizardfolk a single Knut of the Black fortune._

 _However, thankfully all hope is not lost. The magic imbued into the Black family tapestry in our home has shown me that Sirius has taken a wife; Cynthia. No doubt a proud Pureblood woman of noble stock from a foreign country, as his association with any British woman of proper standing would have revealed his deception. The tapestry also reveals that their union had begotten a son before his incarceration, whose name is Antares. Obviously, with the prevalence of Mudbloods and blood traitors in Britain my daughter-in-law and grandson have chosen to hide themselves away until our cause rises triumphantly once more, fearing retribution from the hapless fools who have not the strength of will to continue the work my Sirius and Regulus, Merlin bless his soul, have carried forward. Therefore, to Antares Black, son of Sirius Black, I leave the remaining bulk of the Black estate, including any liquid assets, property, our home in London, and our faithful elf Kreacher, who has been ordered to serve his new master as he would me. I leave Antares's mother Cynthia as Regent of the estate until Antares reaches his majority, and order that a trust vault of 6,000 Galleons, renewed every year on the first of January, be established for the young man's use and care until such time as he turns 17 and takes his rightful place as the next Lord of the House of Black._

Remus put the scroll down. "That's . . ."

"Insane? Deluded? Demented?"

"Actually pretty good for us."

Cindy blinked. "I'm sorry, but how is this good? She's outed AJ. How can he ever go back to Britain with this nonsense hanging over his head?"

"Well, first off, AJ has only been outed to anyone who has read the will. Since AJ is the only real beneficiary that number is going to be extremely small, mostly goblins who don't give a rat's arse about wizarding politics and perhaps a few people in the Ministry, who see so many of these things a year that it will quickly be forgotten. Plus AJ wasn't going to be able to go back to Britain until Sirius is free anyway, and Sirius being freed will show all of this tripe to be just that. Some people may continue to believe, but if we play it right it won't matter; even most Purebloods thought Walburga was a few cards shy of a full Tarot deck. Additionally, it gives you and the boys some additional funds to add to both Sirius's and Harry's inheritances, which is never a bad thing. But, most of all, this shows that Walburga never sent anyone to look for you or AJ, at least not in a bad way. She thought you're a Pureblood, so anyone looking is going to scour through wizarding records, not Muggle ones. Even if someone tries to find you they're going to search for information in all the wrong places. I'd add that a proper Pureblood wife would never not take her husband's name, so you going by McClellan in public will throw them even more off track."

Cindy nodded thoughtfully as she absorbed what Remus was telling her. "What about this elf, Kreacher? Could he still screw things up?"

"Not if Walburga ordered him to obey AJ. The next time we visit Andi, Ted, and Dora, have him summon Kreacher and order him to keep up the house she mentioned until the return of the Lord Black."

"Oh yeah, what's with that anyway? Lord Black?"

"Self-important crap. The Blacks have always called the most senior male of the family 'Lord Black.' It doesn't do anything; no special power over the family, no actual accolades or titles. It just lets them feel special. A lot of the old families did that, though it's fallen out of fashion since about World War II. In fact, the Potter family is old enough that the senior male by rights is Lord Potter, though no Potter has gone by the title in generations."

"Okay, let's _not_ tell the boys about the part where they can make people call them 'My Lord.'"

Remus chuckled and went back to his coffee. "Agreed."

{-}

Friday, 31 October 1986

Most days for Sirius Black passed in a blur. When he'd first arrived at Azkaban he had held onto hope strongly. He knew he was innocent, and he knew that, when he was able to plead his case that he would be allowed to return to his wife and son. But not trial had ever come, and each day that hope dwindled more and more. As it did he found himself having to retreat into Padfoot more and more; the baser instincts of his animagus form helped to dull the effects of the every-present Dementors. While as a dog he retained his own thoughts and memories, what he lost to the more animalistic nature was a proper sense of time; that combined with the ability of the Dementors to make a second feel like an eternity left him with absolutely no idea how much time had actually passed. It might have been months but, Merlin forbid, could have been years since that last time he'd seen his family.

As the days had melded together and he'd had nothing else to do but lie on his threadbare mattress, using Padfoot's shaggy coat to try and keep warm, he'd spent a lot of time thinking on Cindy and AJ. He'd known it even at the time, but given the chance to really review things he now understood just how monumentally he had screwed up by not listening to Moony and letting the Aurors deal with Peter. He'd let a dangerous singlemindedness and impulsivity control his thoughts and actions, and it quite possibly had cost him everything left in the world that he held dear. Azkaban had no visitation or mail service; there was no way for him to contact Cindy and beg for her forgiveness, or ask how little AJ was doing. In the moments when the Azkaban guards retreated (normally when the human guards brought their meager meals) he would whisper his love and his sorrow out of the tiny barred window of his cell, hoping that somehow his words would be carried on the wind to their ears, helping them stay strong until they could be again reunited. He also liked to think that, every now and then, he heard whispers in return, telling him to hold on and that they were coming for him just as soon as they could. Many days, those whispers were the only thing that kept Sirius from the madness that consumed so many in this Hell on Earth. But even if it was all in his head he would do it anyway. He would hold on; he would survive, and he would make it back to the very best things that had ever happened to him. Any other outcome was unacceptable.

* * *

A/N: I apologize if I completely butchered the spiritual rituals of the Sioux.

I also apologize for those of you who hoped Sirius would be out quickly; it just wasn't in the cards for this story. Maybe I'll write one where Harry is raised by Sirius to make up for it. But, for this one, I wanted to give Remus a shot at being the father figure in Harry's life, and of course not having him ghost out for a decade while Harry had to live with the Dursleys.

Walburga's will was a variation answer on the question "how could a disowned Sirius inherit Grimmauld Place?"

AJ's Legilimency was a shameless plot point to get the boys to learn Occlumency early and have them start looking more deeply into Harry's scar.

As always, thanks for you follows, favorites, views, and reviews. 6/24/19


	8. Chapter 8

Saturday, 10 January 1987

"So," Remus asked as he handed Cindy a glass of wine, "how does it feel to be the big three-oh?"

Cindy shrugged. "I feel about the same as I felt yesterday. Probably about the same as I'll feel tomorrow." She swirled the wine around a few times, her features deep in thought before bringing the glass to her lips and taking a sip. "I feel . . . incomplete. I . . . I . . ."

"You wish Sirius was here," Remus finished for her, and Cindy could only nod her head sadly and drink more of the cabernet in her hand. Remus also nodded his head as the level of bourbon in his own glass dropped by about half. "My new instructor doesn't know anyone high enough in the European Cabal to be of any use to us on that front."

"We pretty much expected that," she answered as a tear slid down her cheek. "It's already been five years, Remus. How much longer does he have to stay in that hellhole?"

Remus was up and by her side immediately, and Cindy welcomed his embrace as she started to cry. The rite they had gone through in South Dakota had strengthened their already close relationship to where they really did see each other as siblings. Over the years they had both needed the shoulder of the other to cry on, and what was needed was never far for either one of them. Remus rubbed her back soothingly as she lost the most current battle she constantly waged within herself; the one to hold it together long enough to see her Sirius freed and by her side once more. As the minutes passed she got a grip on her emotions once more and lifted herself away from Remus. As she wiped away her tears and took another fortifying drink from her glass, she looked at her companion. "Thank God for you, Remus Lupin."

"Cindy, are you drunk?" he asked playfully. "That sounds like something only a drunk person would say."

"Not in the slightest, you self-deprecating jackass," she said, a smile back on her face. "I mean it, though. You didn't have to stay with us once we were settled here. You could have had a life of your own by now, not beholden to a promise made in the emotion of a moment. Instead you've stayed and helped me raise the boys, to teach them the things that I would never be able to. You've been a father, uncle, and older brother all rolled into one for them, and been as close as any of my brothers and sisters to me. There isn't enough thanks I can give for you being a good man and a better friend."

It was Remus's turn to shrug as he picked up his drink and took a sip. Knowing that wouldn't be a good enough response for Cindy, he debated what he wanted to say for a few moments before beginning. "After I was bitten as a child, I grew up basically thinking that I would always be alone; being what I am doesn't lend itself to a strong social life. But I made dear and true friends who looked past what I was to who I am, and I loved them for that. I still do. You say I could have had a life of my own; I'd argue I'm right where I should be. James, Sirius, and Lily took a lonely eleven-year-old boy and gave him more than a life; they gave him a family. And then you and the boys, and even Kensy, came along and that family grew. The friendship, love, and loyalty that we all share mean more to me than I can ever express, and are something I could never repay. I don't stay out of a sense of obligation, Cindy. I don't stay because of what I promised Sirius that night. Andromeda said something to you all those years ago when we first left England that really stuck with me, and it's as true now as it was then. Family doesn't desert family. I stay because I feel that this is where I belong, doing my part to raise the pack's pups up right. Those boys have been robbed of their fathers; what kind of person would I be to abandon them?"

"Remus, I –" she began, but he interrupted as a painful expression crossed his face.

"But I'll admit it's not all altruism," the werewolf continued as he stared intently into the lit fireplace. "I'll likely never have children of my own. Even if I could find a partner that would be able to look past my disease, I would be too frightened about passing it on to any kids I might have. As it is, I am terrified every full moon for the three of you, even though I take Wolfsbane, lock myself in the cell in the basement, and have the three of you stay in the other house. I know it's stupid, and I'm letting myself be defined by my disease, but I can't help it. I will probably always feel . . . less, somehow. Unworthy.

"This: being here, helping you and the boys . . . this is as close as I'm liable to get to a 'happily ever after.'" Remus downed the rest of his drink with a slight wince. "I know it's all a dream; that the two black-haired hellions sleeping upstairs, who I've spent countless hours and will happily spend countless more teaching how to be men, aren't mine in anything more than spirit. That the woman I've shared a house with for five years, who was kind enough to see past my curse and see me, is my closest friend and my sister, but nothing more." He blew out a long breath. "And all of that is how it should be, as it was meant to be. But it's a happy dream, and so I let it in. All dreams end, but . . . let me just stay in this one as long as I can, yeah?"

She had no comeback for that, and so did the only thing she could think of and curled herself into his side, as she had countless times before. And just like those times before, Remus's arm came around her comfortingly as a quiet solace passed between them. The fireplace continued to crackle as a song neither would later remember came across the wireless.

{-}

Tuesday, 1 August 1989

Two young boys who had been up entirely too late the evening before due to an overdose of super-sugary birthday cake groggily entered the kitchen that Tuesday morning.

"Morning pups," said Remus over the top of his book.

"Morning Pops," the two boys replied in unison; it was a very common back-and-forth greeting between the three of them. As the boys had aged they had just naturally started assigning Remus to the father roles in their lives. They knew he wasn't actually either boy's father but they loved him as such, and he them.

"So, there was something I wanted to mention to you both," Remus commented as the boys sat down. Kensy immediately walked over and put plates of eggs and sausage, along with a bowl of mixed fruit each, down in front of them. Both took a couple of bites before processing what Remus had said.

"What's going on?" AJ asked as he spread butter and jam on his (American) biscuit. Cindy had a weak spot for homemade buttermilk biscuits, and Kensy made the best ones she had ever tasted. They were served with almost every meal they ate, and were the primary reason behind the woman's almost religious daily workouts.

"Well, you know we're about to jaunt over to the States and see your Grandma and Grandpa." As both boys nodded, mouths full of food, Remus continued. "And as per usual we're going to be making a stop at the reservation to see Mato and Chief Soaring Owl. But we're going to be doing something else this year as opposed to just visiting and having our Occlumency tested. You see, Switzerland does things differently than the UK or even the US does. In Britain you're not allowed to carry or learn to use a wand until you're eleven. However, the Swiss don't tie wand ownership to your starting school, but more toward when they believe accidental magic starts tuning down and a child should start learning control and the very basics of what they'll need to be prepared for school. As such, here you're allowed a wand any time after your ninth birthday."

Harry swallowed the eggs he'd been chewing and looked at Remus. "We're . . . we're going to get wands?" he asked, his eyes bright and hopeful.

"Yep. The elders have agreed that you both can get wands made for you by one of the tribal craftsmen. You're also going to start learning how to use them properly." Remus looked at both youths seriously. "Boys, I understand this has you excited but there are a couple of things I need to talk to you about first. Man-stuff, understand?" Both boys nodded solemnly; whenever Remus said that a lesson or talk had to do with 'man-stuff,' as opposed to 'guy-stuff,' they knew it was something very important that they needed to pay close attention to. "First, a wand is a tool, but it is also a weapon. You always treat one with respect, and are always mindful when another witch or wizard has one in their hands. Intentional or not, bad things can happen when wands start waving. Clear?" Two more nods as the boys kept eating. "Second, I'm going to start teaching you boys some Defense and other practical magical applications. Both of you will have targets on your backs once we pop back up on people's radar. For Harry, it could be followers of Voldemort or insane people trying to either take advantage of or compromise you. AJ you have the opposite problem; at least until your father is exonerated, unfortunately you'll potentially be a target of the more Light-aligned families once they figure out you're from 'that' Black family. Even without that, though, your size will also bring people out of the woodwork thinking that if they can take down the big kid they'll be king of the hill." AJ had lived up to Cindy's expectations from when he was born as to his size; at 9 years old he was more in the normal height and weight range for a boy 2 years his senior. "Under _no_ circumstances will anything I teach you be used without provocation. Is there an understanding between us?" he asked sternly, peering intently at both of his charges.

"Yes, sir," both boys answered immediately.

"Good," Remus said, relaxing back in his chair. "Good. Your mother had a few errands to run in Basel this morning, but as soon as she has that sorted we'll head down to Zurich to catch our portkey."

"Remus," AJ began, "what happens if we get into trouble and we don't have a wand, or it's taken away from us, or we are around people who don't know about magic and we can't use them? What if we can't or shouldn't fight back?"

The werewolf contemplated those points for a few moments. "Alright, new plan. I'll teach you magical Defense and we'll find some people to teach you some mundane forms in case you need them, and maybe some ways of getting or staying out of trouble should it come to that. Sound good?"

"Yep," AJ responded happily.

"We're going to learn how to use wands and be _ninjas_?" Harry asked excitedly. He looked over at his brother who, while AJ didn't wear his heart on his sleeve like Harry did, still couldn't hide his eagerness. "Wicked."

Remus just shook his head and chuckled as he went back to his coffee and book.

{-}

Saturday, 6 July 1991

A staccato of _Thwack Thwack Thwack_ echoed through the trees, disturbing some quail on a nearby branch and sending them to the sky. Two forms, one taller and broad at the shoulder and one shorter and lithe, moved with purpose along the ground below the displaced birds, wooden implements banging against each other and intense looks of concentration on both faces. They were _supposed_ to be practicing their Jujutsu forms for their testing Monday evening; what they were actually doing was trying to re-enact a swashbuckling scene from an old film Remus had taken them to the previous day when their mother had had to work late. Since she'd managed to get a job working in the Counsel's Office of the International Confederation of Wizards in Geneva she'd had to work a lot of late nights, but the job was perfect because not only did it allow her to use both her magical and Muggle law credentials but it meant she worked for Alexis Castrano, the ICW's Head Counsel. If anyone could make the British Ministry of Magic quake in their boots and help her get Sirius free, it was the most powerful lawyer in the magical world. It helped that Alexis was a really nice woman, at least to the people that worked for her. Cindy hoped that, after a few years of hard work and camaraderie that Alexis would be willing to help her with Sirius's case.

AJ pushed Harry back with a series of moves, his larger frame and greater reach helping to do so. Harry, though, had almost preternatural reflexes and could rely on them and his agility to help wiggle himself out of trouble, as he had a number of times in his short life. Being trained, fast, and lucky had allowed him to elude quite a number of injuries, awkward situations, and (probably deserved) punishments over the years. Harry knocked the stick AJ was using to the side and quickly sprinted the other way, opening a gap between the two of them and resetting the encounter. AJ walked toward Harry slowly, both boys breathing heavily but now with wide smiles.

Just as they were about to begin again they heard the loud whistle Remus would issue as a rallying call. Both boys dropped the branches they had been using before turning and running toward the house, AJ's longer strides helping him keep up with Harry's raw speed. They passed out of the woods and crossed the open field toward the house quickly, seeing both Remus and Cindy on the back porch of Number 3, the 'visible' house, which they had started living in full-time not long after the boys had started primary school. Number 1 remained as both their hidden bolt hole and Remus's sanctuary during his transformations.

As the boys approached, Cindy couldn't help but think about her two sons (for Cindy did indeed consider Harry her son, even though with Sirius in prison she couldn't officially adopt him) and how even though they seemed so very different they were both equally brilliant in her eyes.

Harry was a bit smaller than other children his age, his stature combined with his speed and reaction times making him an excellent striker on his youth football teams. His manual dexterity had also led him to a love of playing both the piano and the guitar, which he had been practicing since he was six. He was gregarious and always tried to make friends and give people the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately he had inherited bits of James's brashness and devil-may-care attitude, though thankfully he had only a tiny fraction of the man's inflated ego. He also seemed to have more than a bit of Lily's temper and had developed a bad habit of sometimes speaking before thinking, especially when he was angry. On the flip side he'd also gotten Lily's and his grandfather Fleamont's skill with Potions, something the boys had started learning the previous summer and that Harry morphed into a talent for baking, which like potioneering required precision, a certain attention to detail, and more than a little finesse in order to tweak a recipe beyond 'acceptable' and into 'exceptional.' Cindy smiled thinking that it was now Harry that made the best buttermilk biscuits she'd ever had. Kensy's were amazing still, but Harry did something that elevated the ones he baked to a whole other level.

AJ, on the other hand, seemed to have hit his first growth spurt early, not that he'd ever really been small for his age. He was taller and, thanks to both genetics and the training Remus had arranged, broader than boys several years older than him; his size and athleticism made him very potent on the rugby field. Where a lot of boys might have used the height and weight advantage to become a bully, AJ seemed to have taken the opposite road; Cindy had been called to the school a number of times, not because AJ was picking on kids but because he had gotten into fights defending others. She had appeared angry, but was actually very proud the day she'd learned AJ and Harry had joined forces and taken down Nico Wenger, a boy 4 years their senior, when the older boy had tried picking on another student who was confined to a wheelchair.

AJ excelled in languages, both written and spoken. Both boys spoke English and German due to where they lived. They both also spoke French, though Harry's left quite a bit to be desired; he was good with translating but his pronunciation was terrible. AJ had taken the polyglot ball and run with it, also becoming fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and Elfin (the last of which he had learned from Kensy), speaking passable Japanese (due to his martial arts classes and a love of the _Dragon Ball_ manga) and Lakota (courtesy of Mato), was about to start studying Italian and Dutch, and even knew a bit of the Goblin tongue though he was far from proficient. Cindy smiled remembering how miffed he'd been that, due to its nature as a magical language, he couldn't learn to speak Parseltongue from Harry when they'd discovered the younger boy had that skill. This knack for languages and his status as an analytical thinker had also made AJ a lover of Runes and runic alphabets, a skill not usually taught until later in a student's magical education. In this case, however, Remus estimated that if AJ wasn't already at O.W.L. level he would be pretty soon. Harry likewise would be well ahead of his peers when it came to Potions, even after only a year of instruction.

Harry went out of his way to try and be as sociable as he could with as many people as he could, and tended to have a steady cycle of people that he applied and removed the term 'friend' to (as some children are wont to do). It wasn't that he was mercurial with regard to his friendships, far from it; it was just that people tended to drift in and out of his wide circle of friends and Harry accepted this ebb and flow as the natural order. AJ, conversely, had a small nucleus of people that he liked and trusted, many of whom had known each other since the boys started primary school, and rarely deviated out of that group. When Cindy had discussed this difference with each of the boys their responses had been interesting. Harry had stated that you'd never know who people are or what they could teach you if you never let them in. AJ had said that with his particular gift letting too many people in too deep became a strain; it was easier on him to keep most people at arm's length.

Both boys understood why their birth fathers weren't around, and while Harry took the fact that his parents were dead in stride, AJ had a harder time accepting that he was even related to Sirius. While the adults had tried to keep the worst of Sirius's sins from them both, the boys had heard enough either in sub-context, through inference, or during those moments when AJ's Legilimency got away from him to know that Sirius wasn't around because, at the heart of it, he let his impulses override his better judgement and, more damning, his loyalty and sense of obligation to his family, at least as far as AJ was concerned. Therefore, especially after he had started learning Occlumency and it had helped sharpen his focus, AJ had decided to take more after his grandfather Jeremiah and as such liked having plans for everything. AJ liked keeping control both of himself and his surroundings. He laughed, played, and had fun just like any other child, but he wasn't prone to outbursts or extreme emotional reactions.

Cindy shook her head to clear her thoughts as the boys ran up onto the porch, both of them panting, sweaty, and more than a little dirty from their trek through the woods. "Boys, I want you to get cleaned up; there are a few things we need to discuss as a family," she said, and they nodded before heading into the house. She and Remus followed, taking their customary seats at the kitchen table, Cindy's place holding two envelopes; one with utilitarian green writing on it and the other addressed in a flowing script of blue ink. She of course knew what the envelopes were without having to open them, and understood that her boys' lives were about to change dramatically.

Harry returned downstairs first, though he seemed to have won the race because he had neglected to dry his hair; he kept it slightly longer in an attempt to both hide the remnants of his scar and to keep it from going out at all different crazy angles, the latter helped by using a shampoo lightly laced with Sleekeazy's. His hasty attempt to dry it had failed and was causing quite a bit of water to soak into his t-shirt. AJ was beside him a few minutes later, his short black hair not as much of an obstacle as Harry's in the 'getting dry' department. As they sat and Kensy brought them glasses of ice water, Cindy got straight into what she wanted to say. "Alright, boys, there are a couple of things to go over, and most of them revolve around these," she started, holding up the envelopes and handing the one in green to Harry and the one in blue to AJ.

Harry looked the envelope over. There on the face of it was his name, plain as day: 'Mr. H. Potter, C/O Gringotts Bank, London Branch, Diagon Alley.' He flipped it over to see an unfamiliar wax seal that held the envelope closed, and looking up he saw the encouraging looks from both Remus and Cindy to open it, which he did with equal parts excitement and trepidation. He pulled out a few sheets of parchment, the top one of which was a letter which he quickly read. As he finished it, a wide smile crossed his face.

"Hogwarts?" he asked simply.

Remus chuckled. "If you want to, pup."

"Of course I do. Why on Earth wouldn't I want to go?"

Cindy inwardly cringed at this simple question. There were plenty of reasons why _she_ didn't want him to go, chiefly that he'd be 800 miles from home for almost 10 months out of the year, with none of the protections or relative anonymity that they enjoyed here. She knew that there were elements in Britain that still wished to harm Harry for his role in the downfall of Voldemort, and there were others who wanted to use Harry for his fame or his fortune. She was really hoping that he could find even a few people who saw past all of that 'Boy-Who-Lived' crap to find the amazing young man that Harry truly was. Her thoughts were interrupted as Harry continued talking.

"What house do you think we'll be in, AJ? Do you think we'll be in the same one? Will they let us use the wands we got on the reservation or will we have to get new ones? Can we do our shopping here or do we have to go to England to do it?" Harry stopped, finally seeing that the still unopened envelope in AJ's hand was in a different color and writing style than his own.

Remus's expression was as neutral as he could make it. "Harry . . . only you got a letter from Hogwarts. AJ . . . well, the British Ministry doesn't even know AJ exists, do they? And nobody really knows the magic involved, but for whatever reason The Quill and Book put down your name but not AJ's."

Harry turned to his brother, a look of disbelief on his face. "You're . . . you're not coming with me?"

AJ looked down at the envelope in his hands and seemed to consider it deeply before looking up at his distraught brother. "I guess there's just not enough Brit in me," he said with a small smile and his best interpretation of Remus's British accent, his normal voice having none of said accent. His attempt at a joke did not raise Harry's spirits at all. "Harry, Pop is right. No one in Britain except the Tonkses know about me; you're a national hero, though. And aside from Sirius there's nothing British about me. I was born here, and I grew up here. I know you did too, but you're still a British citizen. Mom and I are both Swiss now. She would have done the same for you if she could have, but with Sirius in prison she couldn't." Cindy winced. AJ refused to call Sirius 'Dad' or 'Father' or anything like that; he was always just 'Sirius.' The betrayal the boy felt from the man who he couldn't remember but that made his mother cry was deep rooted. "I remember reading in _Hogwarts: A History_ about how The Quill of Acceptance and The Book of Admittance choose who gets to go. I guess they didn't see a good reason to send me a letter. Besides, even if I'd gotten one, for at least a few more years it would be a bad idea for me to go anyway." Again, a reference to Sirius and the issues he caused even 10 years removed.

"But . . . but . . ." Harry was trying desperately to come up with some reason, any reason, to have AJ go with him. They'd been together their entire lives; how was he supposed to take on this next adventure without AJ? Wracking his brain, he started grasping at straws. ". . . who's going to help me study? Who's going to make sure I do my homework?"

The other three couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the obvious quasi-guilt trip Harry was trying to pull, though it was Cindy who responded. "I'm sure you'll find someone who will help you keep up," she said with a smile. "The two of you have grown up side by side, helping each other, learning from each other, defending each other, pushing each other to be better, and complementing each other in ways that, quite frankly, still amaze me sometimes. But now it's time to see who each of you can be on your own."

"Where will AJ go to school then? He's a wizard; he can't just go to _Kantonsschule_ with the rest of our friends next year."

AJ held up the temporarily forgotten about envelope. "My guess would be wherever this is from." He popped open the wax seal, pulled out the parchments inside, and perused them. "Beauxbatons?"

"Beauxbatons is in France," Remus replied immediately, though they'd probably figured that out from the name. "It's one of the 'Big Three' in Europe, along with Hogwarts and Durmstrang. It's a very good school; my first mentor in my Mastership program attended Beauxbatons."

AJ just shrugged and put the parchments back. "Well, at least I already speak the language," he commented dryly. "Mom, Pop, do you know if it's possible for me to keep up with the _Kantonsschule_ classes through correspondence?"

"You want to take _extra_ classes?" Harry asked, almost indignantly.

"I want to keep my options open," AJ corrected. "I want to have a plan for if . . . well, if being back in the magical world full-time doesn't end up being everything we hope."

"I'll look into it, sweetheart," Cindy promised. "In the meantime, we'll have to make plans to visit both Britain and France to pick up the needed supplies. You boys up for a trip to see the Tonkses?"

Harry's mood brightened at the name. "This will be Dora's last year at Hogwarts, right?"

"Lucky sod," AJ mumbled when he saw his mother's nod. Both Harry and AJ had developed boyhood crushes on the young metamorph that had only grown as the three of them did, and so enjoyed every time they got to see her and hang out with her. And now Harry would be going to the same school as her. AJ was taking all of these little slaps stoically, but inside really wished he was going with Harry. Not just because of Dora or because of his family's history with the institution but, being the only two magicals in their circle of friends, while Harry would have Dora for support if he needed it for the first time AJ would be totally on his own.

"I know Hogwarts starts on the first of September; AJ when did it say you had to be at Beauxbatons?"

"Travel on Saturday the seventh with classes starting on Monday the ninth," he replied from memory.

Cindy nodded. "Well, we're supposed to head to the States next Saturday and come back a couple of days before Harry's birthday. How about we plan a day trip to Paris to pick up what AJ will need before we leave, and then we'll head for London the last week of August in order buy Harry's supplies and see him off. That'll give us plenty of time to get . . . did it say how you're supposed to get to school, AJ?"

"When you send in your acceptance and tuition payment they mail you back a timed portkey," he replied.

"That is a really good idea," Remus remarked.

"Yes, well the French aren't a bunch of bloody savages like the British," Cindy quipped. "Honestly, even a kid that lives a stone's throw from Hogwarts has to come all the way down to London in order to take the train? Seems exceedingly inefficient."

"Hey, I made some of the best friends I've ever had on that train," Remus responded indignantly. The light in his eyes showed that he wasn't really upset, and everyone in the room knew that he and Cindy liked to playfully snipe at each other now and then, as many siblings do.

"And you could have made them just as easily when all of you were shoved into the same dorm room 10 hours later," Cindy shot back immediately. Cindy especially liked to point out a lot of the illogic or anachronisms present in British magical society. Remus was often torn, being both a Brit and a logical man himself, and often could only reply with 'that's the way it's always been.'

The boys, for their part, just sat there smiling at the banter, though internally each was questioning what their futures would hold.

{-}

Wednesday, 31 July 1991

The guardian at the bottom of the stairs to the Headmaster's Office warned Albus Dumbledore that his gamekeeper Hagrid was approaching. He was eager to hear from the man; not only had he sent the man to Gringotts to retrieve a priceless artifact, but Hagrid was also to make his way to Privet Drive in Surrey and introduce Harry Potter back to the wizarding world. Normally Minerva would have gone but she was busy with the Muggleborns, and Severus had history with Petunia that Albus did not want drudged up. Albus had remembered Minerva's warning from all those years ago ('the worst sort of Muggles') and so decided that his other two Heads of House would probably not fare as well as a man close to ten feet tall and half that wide.

Both of Hagrid's missions that day were very important to Albus; the first to protect his friend Nicholas's possession and the other to bring the son of two dear departed friends back to the place that he belonged after so long. Albus had second-guessed himself on an innumerable number of occasions regarding his decision to place Harry with the Dursleys, but the dangers to the boy in the wake of the end of the war (dangers which still existed and, indeed, may even be back on the rise) combined with the desires to keep him humble and allow him a childhood away from his fame and notoriety kept Albus from taking any action. He had to have faith that everything would work out, and the letter he had left Petunia promising no interference or contact with the wizarding world in exchange for providing a loving home for Harry were what ultimately had stayed his hand.

Hagrid burst into the office huffing and puffing, having thundered from the front gates all the way up to the Seventh Floor. "Hagrid, my good man, take a seat and catch your breath," Albus said, waving his wand to enlarge and reinforce one of the chairs in front of his desk. The spells were immediately tested as the half-giant plopped himself down and tried to control his breathing.

"Perfessor Dumbledore, sir, somethin's happened."

A trickle of cold sweat ran down Dumbledore's back at that comment. "Hagrid, were you able to retrieve the item from Gringotts?"

"Yessir, that went off without a hitch," Hagrid replied, placing the wrapped parcel on the desk. "It was when I went to check on little Harry that I ran into a problem."

Albus rocketed forward in his chair, both hands coming down on the top of his desk. "Hagrid, what's wrong? Is Harry alright?"

"I don't know!" the big man cried out, wiping the ensuing tears from his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I went ter the house just like you asked me to. Big walrus of a man answered the door and just started shoutin' at me when I asked to see Harry. Took me almost 5 minutes to get out o' the durned Muggle that Harry didn't live there anymore."

"What?!" Dumbledore shouted, jumping up out of his chair.

"Hasn't lived there in years he told me, almost since the night we dropped him off. Man was a bit fuzzy, but he remembered a lawyer coming by the house and claiming that he was collecting Harry to be placed with his rightful guardians. Cursed man didn't even know any names." That seemed to be Hagrid's limit, and he began bawling his eyes out as Dumbledore reeled back in shock. Harry wasn't at Privet Drive? Hadn't been there in the better part of a decade? Where was he? Who was he with? Who were these mysterious guardians? Albus knew Sirius Black was Harry's godfather, and should have been the one to take responsibility for him when James and Lily died. But Sirius was in Azkaban, and as far as Dumbledore knew Harry had no godmother. Just what is Merlin's name was going on here?

Albus began pacing, trying to riddle out who might have taken Harry. It more than likely wasn't followers of Voldemort; they would have killed the boy and put his body on display if it were. Perhaps a groupie, someone who wanted to make sure the Boy-Who-Lived grew up knowing what he meant to the wizards and witches of Britain? Or someone more nefarious, who sought to capitalize on Harry's fame, not to mention the rather substantial Potter fortune. None of those people would have involved a lawyer though, someone who would lose their livelihood should it come to light that they had assisted in what was, essentially, a kidnapping. No, unless the person had only claimed to be a lawyer there must have been some legal document granting someone other than Sirius custody of Harry.

Dumbledore groaned, cursing himself for his foolishness. James and Lily were both highly intelligent people who knew they were at risk, and had a young son. Of course they would have made provisions in their wills for his care. How had he missed something so obvious? If their wills had been executed in the wizarding world then the probate courts of the Wizengamot would have copies of them. If they had been read in the Muggle world Albus had a few favors he could call in to get the proper paperwork in place to get copies. It would take some time, perhaps until the start of term, and it was entirely possible that he would see Harry himself before he was able to unravel this mystery further. He sighed; there was nothing that could be done until he could make his way to the Ministry in the morning. He just hoped that, wherever Harry had been for the last 10 years that he had been cared for and loved; the alternative was unthinkable to him. In the meantime, he had defenses to erect around the parcel that still sat on his desk where his still-weeping Keeper of the Keys had laid it.

* * *

A/N: Everything except the last section of this one has been written for a while; your guess is as good as mine why it took me so long to post it.

As always, thanks for you follows, favorites, views, and reviews.


	9. Chapter 9

Sunday, 1 September 1991

Five people, two school trunks, and one beautiful female snowy owl made their way through the busy Sunday crowd at King's Cross Station in London. In the lead was Dora Tonks in her ripped jeans and leather jacket, eager to begin her seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry, to her left and a bit behind, was smiling while doing his best to keep his new pet, which he'd picked up during their trip to Diagon Alley and decided to name Hedwig, calm in her cage. The two Blacks and Remus followed behind the pair, and all of them stopped as they approached the barrier between Platform 9 and Platform 10. "We'll leave you two here to make your way," Remus said, knowing that Cindy would not be able to pass through to Platform 9 ¾. "Now, have you got everything, Harry?" The boy nodded. "Okay, well if you find that you forgot anything, or if you just feel the need to talk, you know how to get a hold of us." Again Harry nodded, tapping the inside pocket of his windbreaker where the two-way mirror Remus had made for him currently resided. The Marauders, particularly James and Sirius, had used them during their school days, and with a little trial and error, along with some assistance from both boys (as the mirrors had both a Potions and Runes component, in addition to Charms), Remus had managed to replicate them with a few improvements. The previous ones had been truly two-way linked; one mirror could only ever communicate with a fixed second mirror. Remus had tweaked the runes so that any mirror could be linked with up to six others. Both boys and both adults had one; luckily the magic was in the device so Cindy was able to use them to speak with her sons, which she knew she would be doing as often as they allowed her to.

The woman in question approached Harry and wrapped him in a powerful hug. "Have fun and be careful sweetheart," she murmured to him. "We will see you at Christmas." Cindy was trying very hard to keep to herself what it was costing her to let him go; she and Remus had spent a decade raising and protecting both boys, and now she was having trouble with even this little amount of 'letting go.'

"It'll be fine, Mom," Harry replied, surreptitiously wiping his own suddenly wet eyes with the heel of his hand. "Dora will look out for me."

"You bet your keister I will, bub," the metamorph said in response, clapping a hand on Harry's shoulder as mother and son broke apart. Harry smiled and made his way to Remus while Dora shared a quick word with Cindy. "I'll keep my eye on him, Aunt Cindy, don't worry," she said softly as the women shared a quick hug. "Family doesn't desert family," Dora whispered what had become a family mantra as she pulled back and schooled her features back into a smile. "Even if you end up somewhere other than Hufflepuff," she said more loudly toward Harry.

The boy just smiled as he and Remus shook hands. "Keep an eye on Mom for me, eh Pop?" Harry asked.

"Always," Remus responded. "You focus on your studies, but don't forget to have some fun now and then too," the Marauder continued slyly. "And keep up with your other training as much as you can. It'll be difficult without the formal instruction but I have faith in you."

Harry smiled. "Thanks, Pop." The boy turned toward AJ. "I expect to hear about all the cute French girls you meet," Harry stated matter-of-factly.

"Sure thing," AJ responded easily, looking over at Dora. "They seem to build them pretty good in Britain, too, so don't think it'll be a one-way street." AJ pulled Harry in and the two boys shared a brotherly hug. "Be safe," AJ whispered.

"You too. Take care of yourself," Harry responded before turning back toward the trolley that held his trunk and Hedwig. With Dora's encouragement, he waited for an opening and then pushed his way through the barrier and onto the platform. She quickly followed, and together they made their way toward the red steam engine that would carry her back to familiar ground and him . . . well, he wasn't quite sure what was in store for him, but he was as prepared as he could be to face this unknown adventure head-on.

{-}

As Remus, Cindy, and AJ were making their way back outside, AJ suddenly stopped. He closed his eyes and turned his head, almost as if he was trying to hear something faint. Both adults knew what was happening instantly; despite his strong Occlumency, AJ still occasionally picked up on strong emotions from others. He'd described it to them as 'whispers of the heart,' and his body subconsciously reacted to those 'whispers' as if they were audible. On many of those occasions when the emotions were sad or negative AJ seemed to instinctually want to find whomever he was sensing and do his best to help; it seemed to tie into his nature as a protector. Thus, Remus and Cindy simply followed behind as the boy made his way toward a bench along the wall, where a man and woman were holding each other as they looked down at something. Both had tears in their eyes, though the man was trying his best to hold it together and support his partner. AJ approached them carefully. "Excuse me, I don't mean to intrude, but are you two okay?"

Both adults looked up to find a black-haired boy, who looked maybe 13 or 14, standing in front of them; they'd been so unaware of their surroundings that he'd come up on them without either noticing. "Oh, yes, young man, we're fine," the woman responded, though her tear-streaked cheeks and runny nose belied that. The tissue in her hand had long since become useless due to overuse. "Thank you for asking, though."

AJ reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, handing it to the woman. She smiled softly as she took the offered object. As she did, the object they'd been staring at, which happened to be a picture, slid off her knee and to the floor. AJ knelt down and picked it up, examining it quickly. "This is you daughter," he asked, part question and part statement.

"It is. How did you know?" the man asked.

AJ couldn't quite say that he'd picked up that stray thought as the picture fell, so he instead looked again at the photo, taking in the details in an instant. "She has her father's nose and chin and her mother's eyes and cheekbones." AJ wasn't sure what else to say, so just said the first thing that came to his mind as he handed the picture back. "She's very pretty."

"Thank you, young man," the woman responded. "She's our little miracle." She took a deep, cleansing breath. "It was hard seeing her off to the train this morning, but . . . well, we're told it's a simply wonderful school, and we couldn't let the opportunity pass her by."

Remus and Cindy had been keeping a small distance away while listening in, but heard this piece of information and came up to stand behind AJ as the boy spoke. "Your daughter is on her way to Hogwarts, isn't she?" he asked quietly.

"How could you possibly –" the man began before his brain kicked into gear and he realized how these people must have known.

Remus cut in at this point. "Sir, ma'am, if you're agreeable perhaps we can find someplace to sit and talk. Someplace a little quieter and . . . less crowded." At their nod, Remus extended his hand. "My name is Remus Lupin. This is my sister Cindy and her son AJ."

The couple stood, the man taking the offered hand. "I'm Henry. Henry Granger, and this is my wife, Catherine."

{-}

After waiting for a bit on the platform to allow the crowd to thin as students boarded the train and parents departed, Harry and Dora trudged their way onto the old locomotive. Dora found a compartment that held a few of her friends and offered Harry a seat with all of them. He politely declined, though, saying he thought it better to 'try and find some equally clueless Firsties and start making friends.' She laughed and wrapped him in a one-armed hug, making sure he knew to come get her if he needed anything, before he continued dragging his trunk down the corridor, looking into the compartments here and there. He finally came up to one that appeared to fit the bill; four people who appeared to be his age were in it. Three of them looked on in almost a daze while the fourth was gesticulating and obviously talking at a high rate of speed. Harry decided this was the place to start, and so opened the door to the compartment and quickly asked, "Is there space in here for one more?" into the sudden quiet his arrival had created.

The blond-haired boy in one of the far corners by the window responded. "S-s-sure. H-have a seat."

"Thanks!" Harry said enthusiastically as he manhandled his trunk into the storage rack and placed Hedwig's cage on the bench that held a boy and a girl. That accomplished, he held out his hand to the nearest person, who was an auburn-haired girl wearing plain but nice wizarding robes. "Hi, I'm HJ," he announced.

The girl smiled and took his hand to shake. "My name's Susan. Susan Bones."

"Delighted to meet you, Susan," Harry said before turning toward the only other male in the room. Again, his hand went out. "My name is HJ."

"Neville Longbottom," the boy declared, shyly taking the offered hand. "It's nice to meet you, HJ."

"The pleasure is mine," Harry said happily. Rotating 180 degrees, he encountered a very pretty girl with blond hair and bright blue eyes. "And who might you be?"

"Daphne Greengrass," the girl answered while looking at him curiously, and Harry felt as if he was being weighed and measured. He guessed he wasn't found wanting as a smile came to her face and her hand reached out for his, pumping it once with a firm grip.

He turned toward the last person in the cabin, a girl with bushy brown hair and already in her school robes who was already eyeing him carefully. It was she who had been talking before his arrival, and this time it was her who took the initiative, standing and brazenly sticking out her own hand for the standing boy. "I'm Hermione Granger."

Something about this girl in particular drew Harry in, and so he impulsively decided to be a little bolder in his response. " _Enchante, mademoiselle,_ " he said with a smile as he shook her hand lightly.

"Oooh, _parlez vous francais?_ " She asked excitedly.

"Somewhat" Harry responded in English. "I can understand it very well, but my pronunciation is bad. I'm guessing you speak French?"

"Oh yes. Mum and Dad met in Marseille during their gap year, and they try to go back at least every couple of years. I've been speaking French almost as long as English." Before Harry could respond again, she posited her own question. "Is there a story behind your name, HJ?"

"Yeah, about that . . ." Harry responded, running a nervous hand through his dark hair and sitting down between Hermione and Daphne as he felt the train begin to pull out of the station beneath him. "So . . . alright, everyone calls my brother AJ, they have since the day he was born. And I figured . . . hey, new place, new people, why not see how it works out with people calling me by my initials. See how it feels, you know? Whether it catches on. Leave the old me behind, of a sorts. Why, do you not like it?"

"Oh, no, it's not that," Hermione responded immediately as she sat back down. "It's just . . . coincidental? Maybe serendipitous? You see, my initials are HJ as well; Hermione Jean."

"I don't know what 'serendipitous' means, but if it means something like coincidental then I guess that's true. And kind of neat," Harry finished, smiling at the girl who blushed a bit but smiled in return.

With that, the ice seemed broken, and as the train sped north the five started getting to know each other better, the seeds of true and long-lasting friendships sprouting as the they were carried along the tracks.

{-}

The Black family home in London was only a short walk from King's Cross Station, and was secure enough since only AJ, as the owner, could permit people access to the house. Even Muggles, they had discovered a couple of years ago during a visit. Therefore it seemed the perfect locale for the five who left King's Cross together to sit and discuss topics of mutual interest.

It would have been much harder had Kreacher, the old Black house-elf, still been around. When the family had first met him the summer AJ turned 8, the elf had nearly blown a gasket when he found out that his master was a half-blood. A tirade from both the elf and the portrait of Walburga Black had ensued; they were all thankful for the strong charms on the house that day, otherwise they would have been swimming in Bobbies from all the noise. The end result of that screaming match had been Kreacher saying he would rather die than serve the son of a blood traitor and a Muggle, and magic had heard his call and answered it; the elf simply dropped dead right in the sitting room. This saddened the humans but didn't seem to both Kensy in the slightest; not only was Kreacher a 'bad elf for refusing to serve his master' and deserving of his fate, but now she had a third house to keep clean, and that was after helping her family with an extensive remodel to remove the Slytherin-based motif from the building. Everything identified as dark or dangerous was either destroyed or placed into a set of heavy-duty insulated boxes and stuff into the farthest corner of the basement. Walburga was set alight; she'd made sure the portrait couldn't be removed from the wall but had made no provisions for protection from a propane torch. Though it had been the adults' decision AJ was fine with all of the changes; he had no desire to follow in the footsteps of this side of his family, and Cindy knew that Sirius had hated this house with a passion and would gladly have burned it to the ground.

And so it was into a much brighter and more welcoming Number 12 that AJ and Cindy led Henry and Catherine Granger into, Remus bringing up the rear. Kensy walked into the foyer from the rear of the house and was very pleased to have guests, insisting she would have elevenses ready in the sitting room momentarily. The Grangers were at first startled by the diminutive creature but after sitting and being served tea and some truly wonderful orange scones, the other three proceeded to answer questions not only about house-elfs but about every other question the Muggle parents had, of which there were many. History, society, culture, creatures, school subjects; no topic was overlooked by the dentists. Their lives had been thrown into a tailspin when they'd learned that Hermione was a witch, and they felt woefully unprepared by the sparse literature they'd been presented to understand the world they were allowing their only child to enter. They'd been told that due to an injury Emma had suffered in a car accident they'd never be able to have children, thus Hermione was a truly precious gift they'd been granted, explaining their maudlin reaction to putting her on the train to Hogwarts. That reaction had been compounded by the belief that, as time passed and Hermione delved deeper into the magical world that she would slip farther from their lives. Learning that Cindy was herself non-magical and not only held a job in the magical world but intended to remain deeply involved in her sons' lives gave them hope that they weren't losing the most precious thing in the world to them.

AJ excused himself when the subject of Sirius came up, not wanting to color that conversation with his own thoughts and beliefs about the man. He knew both of the parental figures in his life missed Sirius terribly, and were just now finally getting traction in their plans to see him freed and back in their lives. AJ was more ambivalent about it due to his opinions on his father, and so escaped down to the kitchen to keep Kensy company as she cleaned up and began her preparations for lunch. She brought him a glass of ice water as he sat down at the comfortable kitchen table and became lost in his own thoughts, thoughts they were interrupted a short time later by a slight vibration from his coat pocket.

{-}

"So, you have a brother, HJ?" Susan offered as the train moved steadily North. "What's that like? I'm an only child, so I've always wondered what it would be like to have a sister or brother."

"Me too, on both counts. I'm an only child as well," Hermione offered. Neville also added that he was his parents' only offspring. Daphne had a younger sister, Astoria, but didn't seem ready to volunteer much more about her personal life.

"I'm not sure if my experience is the norm or not, but I think having a brother is great," Harry said enthusiastically.

"Is he older or younger?" Susan asked.

"He's about eight weeks older than I am," Harry replied.

"Wait a tick . . . how does that work?" Hermione asked. "The human gestation period is 40 weeks,"

"The human what?" Neville queried.

"Gestation. How long a woman is normally pregnant for." Neville blushed brightly but nodded. "How can he only be eight weeks older than you?" Before Harry could answer, Hermione offered her own solution. "He's not your brother by blood. Is one of you adopted?"

"Sorta," Harry answered. "His mother and father are my legal guardians, but because of some . . . difficulties . . . they couldn't actually adopt me. But she's as good as my mom, and he's as good as my brother. We've been together our entire lives."

"If he's our age, why isn't he on the train with you?" Daphne asked before Hermione could shoot any questions at Harry about what those 'difficulties' might be. "Is he a Squib? Or a Muggle?"

Harry chuckled, then spoke when the other residents of the compartment looked at him oddly. "That's kind of a weird term, isn't it? Muggle? Like, where did that come from? In German people who don't have magic are called _Ohne Magie,_ 'without magic.' In French it's _Non-Magique_. And Americans call them No-Majes. But Muggle, it almost sounds . . . What's the word I'm looking for . . ."

"Derogatory?" Hermione offered.

"Maybe?" Harry offered. "Like the term is specifically designed to class them differently instead of just identifying them." He shook his head. "Sorry, off on a tangent; that happens to me a lot. To answer your question, Daphne, no, he's a wizard, but he didn't get an invitation to Hogwarts."

"I thought every magical child in Britain at least got an offer to go to Hogwarts," Neville said.

Harry just turned toward Hermione with a raised eyebrow and a sly smile, as if asking 'do you have an answer for that one?' The brown-haired girl sucked in her lower lip as she thought for a moment before realization hit her. "He's not British!"

"Right in one," Harry responded with a smile. "He was born in Switzerland. Actually so was I, but my parents were British and so I kept my citizenship."

"That's why you speak French!" Hermione declared confidently. "Parts of Switzerland speak French as the native language."

"True, though the area I grew up in had German as the main language. But we learned French as well."

"That explains the odd accent," Daphne offered.

"Yeah, growing up in a country that speaks French, German, and Italian with an American mother and a British uncle probably did a number of my accent," Harry admitted.

"You speak German and Italian, too?" Hermione asked disbelievingly.

"No, just German. And Parseltongue."

Harry heard a sharp intake of breath from both Susan and Neville, but Hermione seemed confused. "What's Parseltongue?"

Daphne spoke up. "It's the ability to speak to snakes."

"It's supposed to be an indicator of a dark wizard," Susan said guardedly; her posture had been relaxing but locked back up at the declaration by Harry.

"Oh, that's a load of poop," Harry said. "I speak German too, that doesn't make me a Nazi."

"What's a Nazi?" Neville asked.

"You know who Gellert Grindelwald was, yes?" Harry asked, and three occupants raised in the magical world nodded. "Basically the Nazis were the non-magical equivalent of his followers. During the same era, even. Just because I speak the same language as them doesn't make me like them; that's a very narrow view of the world. It would be like saying that you must have a bad temper because you have red hair."

Susan blushed, realizing the potential illogic in the long-held belief of magical Britains. "Sorry," she offered meekly.

"No harm done," Harry answered with a smile, and Susan's smile returned in response. "Anyway, yes I speak all 4 of those, though like I said my actual conversational French leaves something to be desired."

"That's still really impressive," Hermione said.

"Oh, that's nothing," Harry responded. "My brother AJ speaks . . . actually I'm not sure how many languages he speaks, but it's more than that. And if you'll pardon the pun, he's a wizard at Runes."

"He already knows Runes?" Hermione asked excitedly. "Oh I saw a section about those at the bookstore when we got my schoolbooks. I can't wait to start learning Ancient Runes; they sound fascinating, and they're used in so many things. But we can't start that class until third year."

"Well, with the right incentive I'm sure he'd be willing to teach you a little early if you can find the time."

"How would he do that? He won't be at Hogwarts."

Harry just smiled at that before leaning into the middle of the carriage conspiratorially. "Can you guys keep a secret?"

At the four affirmatives, Harry stood and pulled the shade down on the window to the door, then sat back down and opened the pocket of his windbreaker, pulling out a mirror that was about 8 centimeters by 12. He put the mirror up to his face and quietly spoke. "A.J.B."

Hermione, who was on the same bench as Harry and was peering over his shoulder, gasped as after a moment instead of Harry's face reflecting in the mirror there was suddenly another boy with shorter though just as black hair and piercing grey eyes that seemed to miss nothing. A voice range clearly from within the mirror. "Dang, Harold. I mean we just left you like two hours ago. They kick you out already?"

"Oh har har," Harry responded. "No, I have a person desiring to take advantage of your particular skill set."

"Ummm . . . Which one?" AJ asked.

"Languages. Specifically Runes," Harry answered. "One of my new friends," Hermione smiled at that label, "has a desire to learn them a bit ahead of the curve."

"Ah," AJ responded. "And who might this supplicant be who comes before me seeking knowledge," AJ asked with a grin. Harry turned the mirror so that Hermione's face came into view.

"Hello, you must be AJ. I'm Hermione Granger."

"AJ I am, and it's a pleasure to meet you. Granger, did you say?" AJ asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, why?"

"Hold on a sec," the boy in the mirror said before the pair on the train could see that he was moving.

"Where are you, AJ?" Harry asked.

"Back at Grimmauld. We needed someplace private to talk to some new friends of our own. Oh, Harry, make sure you get Kensy's recipe for orange scones; she made them for elevenses and they were amazing, so I'm eagerly looking forward to what you can do with them. Elevenses. You Brits are awesome. Such cool names for things. Boot. Bonnet. Loo." AJ appeared to reach his intended destination and was now speaking to someone that Harry and Hermione couldn't see. "Sorry to interrupt, but there's someone who would probably like to talk to you." There was a confusing change of perspective before two different people came into focus in the mirror. Hermione impulsively grabbed the mirror from Harry and shrieked.

"Mum! Dad!" The brown-eyed girl yelled.

"Sweetheart?" Emma called out. "Oh my god this is amazing. How is this possible?"

"Magic," Harry heard Remus say through the mirror, and couldn't help his chuckle.

The Grangers exchanged a few minutes of words of endearment before the adults handed the mirror back to AJ. A sly smile crossed his face. "Fate? Destiny? Providence? Coincidence? Who knows. Anyway, I understand there's a young lady on the other end of this thing that would like to learn Runes."

Hermione seemed very close to bouncing up and down in her seat. "Oh yes please."

"I think that can be arranged, but we'll have to wait until I get to school and figure out my schedule before we can figure out the when and whatnot. You'll have to negotiate with Harry for the use of his mirror as well. He was worried about who would kick his tail to do his homework, so trade him being a slave driver in exchange for its use." Harry stuck his tongue out at his brother.

The group on the train heard the Trolley Lady a few doors up from them, and Harry decided that was enough for now. "We'll work it out next week then, AJ. We gotta get going."

AJ nodded. "It was nice to meet you, Hermione." He then yelled louder. "It was nice to meet whomever else was in the room that Harry was too rude to introduce!" This made Daphne snort, Neville blush, and Susan giggle. Harry just shook his head.

"Jerk," he said into the mirror, though there was smile on his face. " _Bis schpöter,_ AJ."

" _Bis schpöter, bruder_ ," came the reply before the mirror cut out and just Harry's reflection was visible once more. He put the mirror back in his pocket before addressing the cabin. "Alright, who wants snacks? My treat."

{-}

After a thoroughly satisfying binge from the trolley Harry leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Kensy would have given him a hard time for eating so much junk food, but he decided as long as he didn't make it a habit he'd be able to avoid the wrath of the protective house-elf. He was just about to doze off when he heard Susan's voice from the other side of the cabin. "So your first name is Harold?"

Harry huffed, but there wasn't much ire in it. "Nope. AJ just likes to do that to irk me. He isn't a huge fan of his first name so he saddled me with one that I would be equally bothered by."

"What _is_ your first name, then?" Daphne followed up with.

Harry sighed deeply. He was really hoping to keep who he was quiet a bit longer; both Cindy and Remus had warned him that people might behave differently towards him once they figured out who he was. They'd all been on the train for a few hours already, so he was hoping that he'd built enough of an impression at least on these three that who he was wouldn't matter. He opened his eyes and surveyed the room. "Harry. Harry James . . . Potter."

"No way," Susan exclaimed.

"'Fraid so," Harry answered.

"But you're so . . . so . . . normal," Daphne added.

Harry scrunched his eyes. "Why wouldn't I be normal?"

"Because you're Harry Potter!" Neville almost yelled.

"Yeah!" Hermione continued. "You're in _Modern Magical History_ and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark_ –"

"Wait," Harry interrupted, putting both hands up in front of him. "Just . . . everyone wait." He blew out a deep breath. "I have no idea why everyone thinks what they do about me. Here's what I can tell you. My name is Harry Potter. My birth parents were killed on Halloween 1981, and since then I've lived with my godmother, my godbrother, my pseudo-uncle, and an overzealous but exceedingly loving house-elf. I know that people in Britain think I'm some kind of hero for vanquishing Voldemort." Daphne winced, Neville cringed, and Susan squeaked at the Dark Lord's name. Harry rolled his eyes but continued. "I can't tell you what happened, or why. But . . . all I want is to go to school and learn magic. I don't want fans; I want friends. That's not too much to ask, is it?"

It was quiet in the room for quite a while after that, and Harry leaned his head back again and closed his eyes. He didn't want to have this discussion with everyone he met; if it was going to be this way he may just consider transferring to Beauxbatons with AJ.

"So what is AJ's first name then, HJ?" a voice finally said, and Harry started as he felt a hand on his shoulder. His eyes opened to see Hermione smiling at him, and he couldn't help but smile back. The brown-haired girl continued. "I'll make sure to call him that during our lessons so he gets a taste of his own medicine."

Harry laughed, and looking at the others in the room he realized that, once the initial shock wore off, these four seemed more than willing to keep treating him just as they had. "Antares."

"That's . . . different," Susan said after a moment. Harry just snorted in amusement.

"That's a fitting word for my family. We're all definitely different."

{-}

"So what houses do you think you'll all be in?" Harry asked a while later during a lull in the re-energized conversation.

"Slytherin," Daphne said without pause. At the questioning glances from her new friends she clarified. "While I don't hold to the prejudices that some purebloods hold, I'm very proud of my family and my heritage. I want to carry on the legacy that has been left to me. I want to make something of my life. I have dreams; I want to be a healer, and I want to eventually run St. Mungo's. Maybe even win a seat on the Wizengamot. You have to admit, that sounds very Slytherin."

"True," Susan stated. "As for me, probably Hufflepuff. I like meeting people and making friends, and I like the idea of honesty and fair play. I know that all sounds kind of cheesy."

"I think it sounds brilliant. Those are all really admirable things to be, Susan," Harry said, and the girl smiled at his response. "Neville, you're up."

"Hufflepuff," the shy boy stated. "I don't think I'm very brave or very smart, and I doubt I have the cunning or the ambition for Slytherin."

"Don't sell yourself short, Nev," Harry said. "I mean, we're only eleven; sure Daphne has a plan for her life, one that sounds awesome by the way, but I would say she's one of the few. My mom told me this time in our lives is about finding out who we really are and what we want, and that it's okay not to know those things." Harry examined the boy for a moment. "I think you're going to surprise the heck out of all of us, Neville. Especially yourself." Neville blushed but the rest could see him sit just a little bit straighter. The black-haired boy turned toward Hermione. "And you?"

"I hope I'm in Gryffindor. I hear it's the house Professor Dumbledore was in."

"That's not how it's supposed to work, Hermione," Harry responded.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"It's about where _you_ want to be, Hermione. Who _you_ are. What's important to you, or I guess more accurately what defines you the most. Knowledge? Cleverness? Friendship? Bravery? Don't want to be something just because someone else is, even if it's someone you respect. Be something because it's what you want to be." The other four in the room nodded, each lost in thought for a moment about Harry's words.

{-}

When the train pulled into Hogsmeade Station the five of them disembarked quickly and made their way toward the literally larger-than-life man with a thick bushy beard and a lantern in his hand calling for all the First Years. _This must be Hagrid_ Harry thought to himself. _I really doubt there's anyone else that could better match Remus's description of the man._ Once they all seemed to be collected they started making their way down a narrow path toward what Harry knew to be the Black Lake. As they walked he heard a conversation, obviously begun on the train, continue behind him.

"All I'm sayin' is, how on earth can a game that is played entirely on the ground with only one ball be exciting?" A pale redheaded boy exclaimed to another boy next to him. "That's mental."

"No, that's football, and it's bloody amazing," the other boy responded. "Seamus, back me up, here." Harry tuned them out after that.

Unfortunately the call of 'no more'n four to a boat' meant one of them was going to be left out. Harry jumped on that particular grenade, interested in talking to a few more of their classmates before things potentially got out of hand. He moved over and sat down in a boat with a girl and two boys already in it. He introduced himself once again and found out their names were Sally-Anne, Kevin, and Roger. They exchanged small talk on the way over after ooh-ing and ah-ing at the magnificent view afforded of the castle that would be their home away from home for the next seven years. The trip didn't last long, certainly not as long as a train ride from London, and Harry disembarked feeling that those three would at best become distant acquaintances; he wasn't sure why, but he had a feeling he would never notice if they just disappeared and never impacted on his life again. Still, all 42 first years made it up to the doors of the castle in one piece, and were passed off from Hagrid to a stern looking woman with black hair pulled up in what appeared to be a severely tight bun. Harry figured this might be Professor McGonagall, who both Remus and Dora had mentioned during some of their stories. She spoke briefly to the first years before having them wait while the rest of the school were seated. He walked back up behind the four friends he'd made on the train. "Did I miss anything?" he asked as he approached.

"Just Malfoy mouthing off," Daphne said quietly, nudging her head at a boy with slicked back hair so blond it was almost white, who carried himself with the unmistakable air of someone who thought they were better than everyone else they met. Harry knew the type; he'd met a few of them throughout _Primarschule_. He and AJ had even conspired to put a few of them in their place; he had a feeling those skills might come into use again against 'Slick boy' Malfoy. The others looked at him as he chuckled. "What's so funny?" Daphne whispered.

"Nothing really. Just thinking about what that guy's name means in French."

Hermione started giggling at this, having just realized it herself. At the questioning look from the other three, she explained. " _Malfoy_ literally translates as 'bad faith.'" This set Daphne and Susan both off.

"Yeah, that about sums up his whole family. My Aunt Amelia is always complaining about Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father. Says the only reason he isn't rotting in Azkaban is because he keeps spreading gold around the Ministry."

"Sound like someone we should steer well clear of," Harry commented, and the other four quickly and quietly agreed as Professor McGonagall returned to escort the First Years into the Great Hall. As they entered Harry was looking around at all the tables. He saw a number of people wave at some of the Firsties; probably older siblings of some of the people, except of course for Dora who kept changing her facial feature trying to get him to laugh. He stuck his tongue out at her as he passed her at the Hufflepuff table.

Remus had told Harry about the Sorting Hat's propensity for rhyme and verse; still, for a magical animated object without an actual brain the meter wasn't bad. His first classmate then stepped forward to the rickety looking stool, and after a moment the artifact proclaimed her to be a Hufflepuff. Harry turned toward that table to see Dora clapping with the rest of her house as their number swelled by one. Susan was next, and then it was 2 to the Badgers.

Of his four friends from the train, Susan's sorting seemed to be the easiest for the hat. It spent almost 4 minutes before sending Hermione to Ravenclaw, and sat upon Daphne's head for almost 2 minutes before she was sorted into Slytherin. It almost reached 'hat stall' levels with Neville, loudly yelling 'Gryffindor!' just before the five minute mark. Finally, it was his turn, as 'Potter, Harry' was called out by Professor McGonagall. He did his best to ignore the increased level of murmured conversation that had suddenly arisen as he made his way to the front and sat down. The Hat dropped down over his eyes and his world turned black.

" _Well, isn't this curious,"_ the Hat spoke into Harry's mind. _"I don't think I've ever sorted someone who already had established Occlumency. That's very impressive for such a young soul."_

" _Err . . . thanks,"_ Harry responded hesitantly.

" _Mmmm . . . I will need you to allow me access, however, if I'm to properly sort you, though."_ Harry focused and allowed the grip on his Occlumency to relax. _"Ah, yes, there we go. Oh my, even more fascinating now. Such a wide breadth of knowledge already, both magical and muggle. The mental discipline for Occlumency and a pinache for Potions, it would seem. Despite the jokes you've been stating over the last few weeks about needing someone to make sure you do your work, you would make a wonderful Ravenclaw._

" _But there's so much more. Bravery and courage in spades. Unafraid to put yourself out there, meet new people, make new friends. Willing to stand up to those older and bigger than you to defend what you believe in, or defend others. Just your being here, knowing the weight your name carries in Britain and still choosing to attend, shows you'd also be strong Gryffindor._

" _There's certainly cunning in this head of yours, and a certain desire to prove yourself. The Gryffindor in you allowed you to spread your wings from your family, particularly your brother, but it's your Slytherin side that wants to show everyone that you can be your own person. You don't just wish to live, you wish to thrive, to prove to everyone that you are more than the Boy-Who-Lived. That drive and ambition would see you welcomed into Salazar's house._

" _And through all of this, there are your tendencies toward Hufflepuff. Your dedication and loyalty to your family and friends are unquestionable. As before, your inner Gryffindor gives you the bravery to stand up for others, but it's your sense of equality and fairness that makes you want to in the first place. You walked into that cabin and met your new friends, and honestly see all of them as new friends regardless of their upbringing, desires, or that they've each ended up in a different house._

" _That fact in itself is telling; there was probably no other cabin on that train that held a member of all four houses, and yet you walked into it and found yourself comfortable will every person there. Yes . . . most difficult . . ."_

Harry just sat there as the Hat held its own council as to what direction its decision-making was leading it. He didn't know it, but outside the hat the five-minute mark that denoted a hat stall had long since come and gone; the quiet murmurs amongst the students were not so quiet anymore, and even the staff were looking on in anticipation to see what would be decided for this youngster. As the 9 minute mark passed, making it the longest stall in history, the brim of the Hat finally ripped open. Everyone leaned forward in anticipation of what the hat would say.

"Better be . . ."

* * *

A/N: I'm not trying to be cheeky or cliffy; I really am not sure what house I want to put Harry in. Hence why he met the people he met on the train.

As always, thanks for your follows, favorites, views, and reviews.


	10. Chapter 10

Sunday, 1 September 1991 (cont'd)

" _Better be . . ."_

" _WAIT!"_ Harry mentally screamed, and the oddest sound he'd ever heard echoed through his head. The Sorting Hat didn't have a tongue, and yet he could swear the noise he was hearing was the Hat choking on it. Back in the world, people were looking at each other in confusion as the Hat seemed to have made up its mind, only to clam up again just when the tension seemed ready to break.

" _Why did you have me stop?"_ The Hat's voice spoke into Harry's head.

" _Which of my friends do you think will need me the most?"_

Another odd sound; if the Hat had eyes, Harry imagined they'd be blinking rapidly in confusion. _"What do you mean?"_

" _Each of my new friends is in a different house. Which one of them would benefit the most from having me in that house too?"_

" _That's not how this works. Wasn't it you yourself who said to your friends '_ Be something because it's what you want to be?' _"_

" _And you said yourself, or at least hinted, that I could fit in any house. And what I want to be is where I'm needed. Where I can do the most good. Be the best friend I can be."_

" _Youngling, for that comment alone I should put you in Hufflepuff like I was about to. You have basically just spoken that House's motto."_

" _Yes, but I doubt it's Susan who would need me close more than the others. Hufflepuff is a house full of friendly people, and I can always ask Dora to take her under her wing. But what about the others?"_

The Hat seemed to struggle with this, but Harry continued his line of thought, the words both boy and object heard the stream of consciousness running through his head. _"Neville needs Gryffindor to bring him out of his shell, to let him find out just who he is and what he can do. Right now he would benefit from a friend close by, but it might also stunt the discovery of himself because he would have a crutch of sorts. Neville needs to be on his own, stand up for himself and fight his own battles, in order to discover who he really is._

" _Daphne will do well in Slytherin for all of the reasons she said on the train. She's cunning, ambitious, and as a Pureblood from a good family won't draw unwanted attention from the bigots, even if she is hanging out with me and the others. So not Daphne either._

" _Hermione is brilliant, but she needs work on how to interact with people. I get the feeling she tends to rub people the wrong way. She desires to prove herself and her intelligence so much that she forgets that people don't like a know-it-all. She'll agitate them, and even smart people can be bullies when they're agitated. I could help smooth the edges, keep her from getting on their nerves too much, and playing mediator if and when they do."_ Nodding to himself, Harry's mind was made up. _"Ravenclaw, please, Mr. Hat."_

" _Mr. Potter –"_

" _Ravenclaw, please, Mr. Hat,"_ Harry repeated a little more forcefully, and with a sigh the Sorting Hat's brim once again opened, silencing the room.

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat exclaimed, and the House of blue and bronze cheered as a smiling Harry pulled the hat from his head and handed it to a bewildered looking Professor McGonagall. He then scurried from the stool down the Ravenclaw table, exchanging a few 'hellos' and handshakes before sitting himself down next to a smiling Hermione. To her surprise, he wrapped one arm around her and gave her a quick half-hug before turning back to watch the last students be sorted.

The sorting of the last few First Years passed quickly, especially when compared to Harry, and the Hall once again quieted as Professor Dumbledore stood from his seat at the Head Table. The headmaster, already wondering what had happened to Harry over the last decade, was fascinated by the Hat taking so long to sort the boy into Ravenclaw. He wished, not for the first time, that the Hat was able to reveal to him what it knew about the students' sorting. He also wished that he knew about this mysterious Cynthia Black; apparently Sirius had married without anyone knowing, and it seemed it was this woman who had raised Harry since he'd left the Dursleys. The only reason he knew even that much was that he'd found Walburga Black's will buried in the archives of the Ministry, which intimated that Cynthia Black was perhaps a Pureblood from another country. He hadn't been able to find any other information about her, however; it was as if she'd been sanitized from all the records he or the people he knew had been able to find. It was obvious someone had taken pains to keep her (and Harry, perhaps) hidden. Perhaps Dumbledore would be able to get some more information out of the boy after he'd had a chance to observe Harry.

Though he thought he knew Sirius, there were still a great number of questions about the events that had led up to James and Lily Potter's deaths, therefore he had no idea what kind of environment Harry had been raised in. But now pieces were finally falling in place to get some answers. Cornelius Fudge had been elected Minister not quite a year ago, and Amelia Bones had taken over as head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the beginning of the year. Neither one were Barty Crouch fans, Fudge was malleable enough to agree to most anything as long as he stayed in power, and Amelia was as much of a straight-shooter as you could likely find in the senior levels of the Ministry. Maybe it was finally time to make a trip to Azkaban and get the information straight from the horse's mouth, find out what really happened that night almost a decade ago. With both Fudge's and Bones's support, he should be able to work around the objections to seeing Sirius that Crouch had stonewalled him with over the years. _Thoughts for another time_ Albus said to himself. _We need to keep the festivities moving._ He opened his arms out wide and smiled at the gathered students.

" _Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"(1)_

Harry's head cocked quickly to the side at Dumbledore's antics, and he looked across and slightly down the table at an older boy speaking with a pretty girl with Asian features. "Excuse me, but what the heck was that?"

"Oh that's just Professor Dumbledore," the boy answered. "He likes people to think he's gotten a bit cracked in his old age, but don't let it fool you. He's as sharp as he ever was."

Harry shook his head as he took a serving of broccoli courtesy of Hermione. "Wouldn't be too sure of that," he murmured to himself as he grabbed a salt shaker.

{-}

Monday, 2 September 1991

Harry had promised Hermione that he'd walk with her to breakfast, and so despite being up until the wee hours getting to know his new dormmates he slugged himself downstairs at 7:30 as she had requested. He saw her on the far side of the Ravenclaw Common Room with, unsurprisingly, her head buried in a book. As he approached she spoke without lifting her head from her reading. "Good morning, HJ."

"Good morning, HJ," he replied back, and that did cause her to raise her head to see his broad grin at her.

"Cheeky," she said as she marked her place and closed the book. "You ready to go?"

"Absolutely," he responded, and together they made their way down toward the Great Hall. Or tried to, at least; it seemed like down every corridor there were people stopping, staring, pointing, and gawking. Hermione tried to get him to ignore it by keeping up a steady stream of conversation, but when he saw a few people for the third time, as if they were taking shortcuts to get ahead of them again, she gave it up as a lost cause and just tried to get him down to breakfast as quickly as possible. They managed, but had only been sitting at the Ravenclaw table for a few minutes when Harry again started to pick up on the whispers from various people and groups already around the hall; more than once he heard his name spoken in quiet and, to his chagrin, borderline reverent tones. He had expected it to happen; it didn't make it any easier to deal with, and he really hoped that it died down as his presence became familiar. He was glad that he had met a few people on the train that he managed to de-mystify himself to, and he hoped that he would be able to expand that group over time. For the moment, though, there wasn't anything to do but grin and bear it.

As breakfast progressed and the hall became more populated, Professor Flitwick approached the table and began handing out timetables. Looking it over quickly Harry smiled, as he had at least one class with every House today. Actually both Monday and Tuesday he had classes with all three other Houses, as they made sure the First Years had their single period sessions at the beginning of the week. While it made sense educationally, Harry liked it because it meant he would get to see how Neville, Susan, and Daphne managed on their first nights at Hogwarts. He would have seen if they could sit together at breakfast but he knew the Heads of House were handing out schedules. No matter; he would be with Hermione for every class and would see the rest as the day went on. He pulled his bowl of fruit salad closer and popped a grape into his mouth, a smile finding its way onto his face for the first time since they'd left Ravenclaw Tower.

{-}

Transfiguration had been fun. He was glad to see Susan and find out that he was right in his impressions on her indoctrination into Hufflepuff; the entire house had welcomed the First Years with open arms. As far as the lesson, he'd learned most of the basics teachers would be starting with from Remus over the last 2 years, but it was still cool to see the effortless way Professor McGonagall turned her desk into a pig with a casual wave of her wand. He hoped one day that he was that in tune with his own abilities to make magic seem so easy. Of the entire class only he had managed to turn his matchstick into a needle, but that was because the Swiss laws on underage wand use had given him two years of practice. The only other person even close was Hermione, and it left him even more impressed with his new friend that she was able to do so in her first lesson.

Defense had been the opposite side of the spectrum, starting out bad and only getting worse. Perhaps he'd been spoiled by learning from Remus, who had spent a good chunk of the last decade gaining his Mastership in the subject, but he didn't think he was alone in believing that Quirrell was a disaster. Aside from seeming to be a crap teacher the man's classroom reeked of garlic, and he was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Someone in the back of the classroom had dropped their textbook on the floor and Harry was convinced that the man was going to jump right out of his skin. It didn't help that Quirrell creeped Harry out; he wasn't exactly sure why, but something about him (other than the obvious) rubbed Harry the wrong way, and he'd ended the lesson with the beginnings of a headache.

Quirrell wasn't the root of his disdain for his first Defense class, however; that honor belonged to one Draco Malfoy. They'd arrived after the morning break with a few minutes to spare before class started, and Harry had been trying to weed through the thick Scottish brogue of his fellow Ravenclaw Morag McDougal when the girl was unceremoniously shoved to the side by two large boys who didn't look like they broke 100 IQ between them. And into the space Morag had previously occupied sauntered Draco Malfoy. "So you're Potter, eh? Well my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. All of the _proper_ families wondered what became of you, wondering if you'd come back hopeless and ignorant. Still not sure you've had the correct education on the way things are. You see, you'll find that there are some people that it's worth getting to know," the boy looked condescendingly at Morag before finishing his comment, "and some who won't amount to anything. Know what I mean?"

"Some worth knowing, and some not worth anything. I couldn't agree with you more, Draco," Harry said, and the blond smiled as he held out his hand. Harry looked at it for a moment before smirking, turning, taking Morag by the elbow, and leading her to a seat in the middle of the room. "So, Morag, tell me more about yourself." He was sure he hadn't heard the last of Malfoy, but class was starting so the Slytherin had little option but to fume at a desk for the implied insult.

Harry sat with Neville and a girl named Lavender during their Charms class, and found out that Neville had had a quiet and uneventful first night in Gryffindor. He knew the boy was shy and needed a boost of confidence, but Harry wasn't quite sure how to facilitate that, especially from another tower; he'd have to think on that a bit. Lavender, while seeming a nice enough girl, was obviously struck with Harry Potter-itus, actually losing a point for Gryffindor because she kept nudging Harry and trying to ask him questions during the lesson. He thought he would try to steer clear of her in the future, at least without additional bodies to provide cover.

After classes were over the five new friends had agreed to meet in the Library to start working on the homework for the day's classes. Additionally, Harry stopped off in Ravenclaw Tower and grabbed a couple of the books for his distance courses. He had (reluctantly) been forced to see the logic in AJ's desire to continue their non-magical education, and so while they had been in America over the summer Cindy had enrolled them both in a program Jeremiah and Margo had found. The boys had had to take a few tests to show that they were up to the level of the coursework but they had managed. Hermione had seen the books and, of course, wanted to know all about the program so that she could tell her parents about it and see if they could find something similar for her; all three Grangers had wondered if it would be possible with the world she was entering for Hermione to continue on to her GCSEs and eventually her A levels, and seeing that this did indeed seem to be an option had Hermione chomping at the bit to send a letter to her parents. Harry smiled as he offered Hedwig's services to take her first letter home.

As they began to work, the three English magic-raised children were boggled by what Harry was using to write his Transfiguration essay. "Harry? What the heck is that?" Susan asked.

"This?" he responded, holding up the object in question. "Didn't you see me using it in class? It's a fountain pen."

"A what?"

"A fountain pen, Daphne. The supplies list said that we needed quills and ink. Well, that seems a bit . . . quaint if you ask me, but at the same time Mom and Remus weren't sure how teachers would react to my handing in work on mundane paper written on with a Bic. So, as a compromise," he held the pen up, "fountain pen. It has a nib kind of like a quill tip and uses ink from an ink well, but doesn't need sharpening, doesn't blot as easily, and when the nib wears down I can just replace it as opposed to having to replace the whole pen." Harry gave a brief demonstration, sucking up ink out of an ink well and writing on a scrap of parchment.

"Got any more of those?" Hermione asked, though he could tell the others were also interested, and Harry smiled as he dug into his bag and produced 4 more pens.

{-}

Tuesday, 3 September, 1991

Tuesday had gone about as well as could be expected so far. Herbology interested him only insomuch as learning how to cultivate and handle potion ingredients, and he recognized that he would probably struggle with the class otherwise. He knew he was going to have to take it for at least the next five years, though, so he decided to make the best of it. At least Draco kept his distance during the class, likely figuring out how best to retaliate for Harry's comment the previous day. History of Magic had been a struggle to stay awake in. It wasn't that History was boring per se, but the ghostly Professor Binns had a very monotone voice and did not engage the students in any way; indeed, Harry wasn't sure that the spectre even knew that there were other people in the room.

Lunch with his friends had come and gone, though, and now was the class that Harry had both been dreading and very much been looking forward to; Potions. He was very curious to see how his skills stacked up, but he'd also been told by Dora that the class was taught by a man named Severus Snape, who Remus had many stories about as they had been classmates, and none of the stories were good. Apparently Snape and Harry's father (and Remus and Sirius to a somewhat lesser degree) had been rivals during their years at Hogwarts, and Snape had been the target of a great many pranks by the group known as the Marauders. Dora relayed that it seemed the years had not softened the man at all, as he appeared to all the world a bitter, angry, malicious man who took pleasure in expounding on the shortcomings of others. Harry, on hearing that, had put some effort over the summer making sure that he would be as prepared as possible to hopefully prove to the man not only that he was not his father but that he was there to learn. He hoped that Snape would see that Harry already possessed what he believed to be above-average talents for his age, and that this would mellow the sallow man as they shared a common interest. He was eager to make a good first impression, or barring that at least prove that he was already an able potioneer, and so he had gotten to the dungeon classroom early and sat front and center waiting for the teacher to arrive.

The rest of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff First Years entered the room, Hermione pulling up a stool next to Harry. Books and parchments were being settled on tabletops when a black-robed figure strode purposefully into the room. As he turned forcefully to face the class, his dark eyes focused on the parchment in his hand, Harry noticed that his greasy black hair barely moved. He called roll, and as he reached Harry's name he seemed to stop for a moment.

" _Ah, yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new –_ celebrity _."(1)_

Harry blushed a bit; it was one thing for 11-year-olds to say something like that to him, but to have a teacher do it took things to a new level of weird. The man quickly finished roll before folding his hands in front of himself and beginning his prepared speech.

" _You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began . . . "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses . . . I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." (1)_

Harry thought Snape was laying it on a bit thick; Harry liked Potions a lot, and without tooting his own horn he knew he had a knack for it. Even so, the professor's introduction of the subject to a bunch of First Years seemed to be less eliciting interest in the subject and more self-aggrandizement. Harry couldn't help the doubtful look that crossed his features, and unfortunately Snape saw it.

" _Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" (1)_

Next to him, Hermione's hand shot into the air, but Harry answered immediately. "I can't tell you, sir."

" _Tut, tut – fame clearly isn't everything." (1)_

"No, sir, you misunderstand me," Harry responded. "Asphodel and wormwood are both the primary active components in a number of sleeping potions. Without knowing the ratio of one to the other, or the other ingredients present, I can't tell you which specific potion you are asking for."

Snape seemed taken aback; of course he knew that, but he thought intimidating First Years with a potion called The Draught of Living Death gave the little brats a proper fear for the subject. That Potter knew this as well served only to tweak Snape's nose, and so he decided to keep gnawing on his new chew toy until the whelp folded.

" _Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" (1)_

"Well, if you're asking where to _find_ one I'd say you, as a potions master, would have several on your person at all times, as they can neutralize most poisons. Failing that there are three in my own pocket. But if you're asking where they originate from, they form in the stomachs of goats."

"One point for your cheek, Potter," Snape growled. _"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" (1)_

"Nothing whatsoever, sir," Harry answered, rather enjoying both annoying this man who thought he would bully an 11-year-old during his very first class and the intellectual challenge of seeing where Snape would go next. "They are the same plant and are also known as aconite, which is a highly toxic flower."

Snape landed his hands on the table in front of Harry, causing Hermione to jump, but Harry held his ground. "What is needed in order to brew a strong exstimulo potion versus the standard version?"

"A standard exstimulo potion uses hair from a granian, while the strong version uses abraxan hair."

Snape's brow furrowed. "One point for being an insufferable know-it-all. How long should you steep calendula flowers for maximum potency?"

Hermione had her hand on Harry's thigh, trying to get him to back down, but despite losing points Harry was having none of it. "On the evening of a full moon, three hours. On any other night, one and a half."

The potions master's right eye twitched slightly. "Who invented the Wolfsbane Potion and what does it do?"

Harry couldn't help but smirk. Wolfsbane was a fairly new potion, only having been invented in late 1984, and was still not in any potions textbook Harry had seen; it certainly wasn't in the First Year curriculum. Snape was trying harder and harder to catch him out; luckily, it just so happened that Harry lived with a werewolf who had been taking that same potion since it was invented. "Damocles Belby invented the potion because his oldest son had been bitten by a werewolf, and it allows people infected by lycanthropy to keep their human mind when they are forced to transform."

Snape saw that smirk and it reminded him so much of James Potter, bane of his early life. The man who had belittled and embarrassed him in front of the entire school on innumerable occasions. The man who had stolen the only woman he ever loved. The proof of that love sat there with that same Merlin-be-damned cocky smile, and Severus couldn't take it. "Stand up, Potter! Now!" Harry's curiosity rose as he complied with the teacher's request. "Name the primary ingredient in Felix Felicis."

Harry stopped for a moment and cocked his head to the side. He knew Felix Felicis was the Lucky Potion, but its ingredient list and brewing techniques were given only to certified masters due to the dangers that arose from brewing it incorrectly. Snape must have known this, and known that Harry couldn't possibly know the answer. The smirk came back to Harry's face after a second, though. Thankfully, the professor hadn't been specific, and since Felix Felicis didn't alter the flow of time or cause elemental changes in objects he knew the answer. "Distilled water, professor, the same as nearly every other potion."

Snape snarled. "Another point from Ravenclaw for cheek. You know very well I meant the primary _active_ ingredient, Potter."

"But that's not what you asked, professor." Harry's smile was now impossible for him to hide. Snape was trying to make a fool of him, and Harry was rather enjoying turning the tables on the sallow man.

Snape, however, saw that smile and saw red. "Get out, Potter."

"I'm sorry, sir?"

"You heard me, brat! I said get out of my classroom!"

"Where am I to go, professor?"

"I don't care, just get out!"

"I'm sorry, sir, I can't."

"Are you refusing my order, Potter?"

"No sir, but the student handbook clearly states that a student in the hallways during time when they have a class must be escorted, have a note from their professor, or have an obvious reason for being out of class and have a specific destination in mind because of that reason."

"Five points from Ravenclaw! Don't parrot the rules to me, you rotten child. Just get out!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but unless –"

That was as far as Harry got before Snape's temper finally hit its limit. Without thinking, the potions master's right arm swung forcefully, striking Harry with a powerful backhand that knocked him into Hermione and sent them both to the floor. Snape was breathing heavily due to his anger, but no one else in the room seemed to take a breath as Harry helped Hermione up and back onto her stool before turning to Snape, blood running down his lip from the open wound there.

Harry touched his fingertips to his face, pulling away to see the blood on them. He stared at the red liquid before meeting Snape's hardened gaze with one of his own. "Thank you, sir, for specifying my destination. I'll be heading to the Hospital Wing now." Without another word, and to a room completely silent in a combination of disbelief and fear, Harry gathered his things, told Hermione he would catch up with her later, and left the room, not bothering to stop the flow of blood from trickling down his face and dripping onto his uniform.

Only after the door slammed shut did it finally occur to Snape what had just happened. He looked around the classroom, seeing nothing but looks of disdain, disgust, and fear on the students there. Nothing he wasn't used to.

" _Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" (1)_

{-}

Thursday, 5 September 1991

"Remus, please, be reasonable."

"I feel like I'm being perfectly reasonable, Albus," the werewolf responded. He turned toward his old friend Kingsley Shacklebolt and his partner who were standing to one side of the room. He then turned toward Snape, who was sitting in a chair by the Headmaster's desk with a look that indicated he wanted to murder everyone in the room. Remus paid the man no heed. "Your Potions professor struck a minor student, one whose guardian I have legal permission to speak for. They have filed a criminal complaint against . . ." Remus almost said 'Snivellous,' but knew he needed to keep his manner above board as much as possible. ". . . Mr. Snape, in due process of both magical and muggle law. These Aurors came with me to investigate that claim and, having found validity to it, have every right to take him into custody. I think you'll find that preferable to what his guardian _wanted_ to happen when she heard her ward had been hit by one of his teachers, which was come to Hogwarts, rip off the arm that had dared hit Harry, and beat Snape to death with it."

"It was a mistake, one occurring in the heat of an argument," Dumbledore tried to reiterate, desperately trying to do damage control.

"From our investigation, there was no argument," Kingsley offered. "Mr. Snape had singled Mr. Potter out, asking subject questions that are normally well above the knowledge of a First Year, and when Mr. Potter answered all of them correctly the accused verbally berated him and then struck him."

"Please, gentlemen, surely there is some compromise to be found, some apology Professor Snape can make that will alleviate this tension."

"I don't give a rat's arse if he flogs himself in the middle of the Great Hall in repentance, Albus," Remus growled. "There are two options. Option One, you fire Snape and bar him from the castle at least for the rest of Harry's time here. If that happens Harry's guardian has, reluctantly, agreed to drop the complaint. Option Two, these Aurors arrest Snape; he stands trial and if found guilty – which I assure you he will be – he will be sent to Azkaban, and the Board of Governors will _still_ make you fire him." He finally returned Snape's glare of hatred. "Please, please, _please_ choose Option Two, you spiteful prick," Remus said, finally letting his anger out. "You've always been a wretched excuse for a human being, and now you've fucked up beyond all recognition." The lycanthrope took a step forward, his eyes blazing. "You hit one of my boys. There is no punishment that will be enough, and for the first time in my life I wish James Potter hadn't saved you that night."

Albus paled at the memory of that event, when Sirius had tricked Snape into approaching a transformed Remus. "There's no need for that, my boy."

"I'm not your boy, Albus!" Remus yelled, turning on the aged wizard. "Don't presume to think you know anything about me anymore, or think that my indebtedness to you for allowing me to attend here will let me see past this man's crimes!" He pointed at Snape. "Get this slimy piece of shite away from Harry and out of the castle or I will do it for you. The life of this man you claim has your full confidence rests in your hands. Decide."

Dumbledore sighed. "Is there no forgiveness in your heart any longer, Remus?"

"For this bastard? Not a lick. Decide," Remus stated again.

"Professor Snape, I'm afraid that for your transgression that I must –"

Snape shot out of his chair. "You must do nothing. I can see where this is going as much as you can." He walked toward the door, but stopped and turned his head to face Remus. "You may think you've accomplished something here today, werewolf. But I promise you that, one day, I will return this slight on you and that abominable spawn of James Potter a thousand-fold." Without another word, he stomped out of the office.

"I trust that this result is satisfactory to you, and there will be no need to take Severus into custody?" Albus asked into the silence.

"I'll allow the complaint to be dropped so long as he's out of the castle within the hour."

The Headmaster frowned but nodded his head in resignation. He would make sure Severus Snape left the castle, likely never to return.

{-}

Saturday, 7 September 1991

Harry ended his first week of Hogwarts even more famous than when he'd arrived, but this time for being the catalyst for driving the Dungeon Bat of Slytherin from the castle. He met Fred and George Weasley from Gryffindor, who made his head spin as they kept shaking his hand between the two of them and talking back and forth, completing each other's sentences as they expressed their gratitude for Snape's eviction. Dora even kissed him on the cheek, the first time she'd ever done that, and it made him blush while driving his boyhood crush on the girl into the stratosphere. He and his friends were settling in well, all of them (especially Hermione) helping him keep on top of both his magical and mundane studies, and though people were still talking about him the whispers, giggles, odd stares, and followers through the hall had died down as the novelty of his presence decreased. All considered things were looking alright, and his thoughts from the train about joining AJ at Beauxbatons slipped from his mind as he sat at the Gryffindor table Saturday morning having breakfast with Neville, Hermione, Susan, and Daphne.

{-}

Meanwhile, AJ's portkey had just landed him and his trunk in the Entrance Hall of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. He grabbed the handle and quickly moved out of the way, figuring there were more arrivals that would soon try to occupy the space he had landed in, and even with magic he knew that was a painful impossibility. He approached the witch checking students in and gave his name. {{"Ah, yes, here you are _Monsieur_ Black. Welcome to Beauxbatons. During Orientation Weekend you will be escorted by a student in at least their Fourth Year; they will help you to get settled in and give you a tour of the chateau and grounds to help you acclimate. It looks like you've been assigned to . . . oh good, here she is now."}} The witch looked behind AJ as he felt a tickling along his Occlumency unlike any he'd ever experienced. He turned toward the source to see an almost impossibly beautiful girl walking over to join them. Her silvery-blond hair fell halfway down her back, and her eyes were a striking deep blue. {{" _Mademoiselle_ Delacour, this is your First Year, _Monsieur_ Black."}}

* * *

 _A_ _ll recognizable test suffixed by (1) are excerpts from_ Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, _J.K. Rowling, 1997)_

In the original outline I had Harry sorted into Hufflepuff, but as I said last chapter I became undecided and was waging an internal debate about it; I finally chose the above. I apologize for those of you rooting for one of the other houses.

I really, really, _really_ don't like Snape and wanted rid of him, and thankfully the long-term story outline let me do that.

{{"TEXT"}} represents spoken French.

As always, thanks for your follows, favorites, views, and reviews. I promise I read every one, even if I'm shit at responding to them.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: {{"TEXT"}} represents spoken French except where the word is, you know, French. What I mean is . . . well, you'll see. I apologize to all French speakers if I use an idiom or phrase that is not appropriate for the language, as I speak not a lick of French. Include my butchery of the language in that apology as well.

* * *

Saturday, 7 September 1991 (cont'd)

Fleur Delacour was having a rotten beginning to her Fourth Year at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and classes wouldn't even start for two more days. Her issue, unfortunately, had nothing to do with academics and everything to do with biology. Specifically, Veela biology and its uncanny ability to make any male in range a slave of his own biology, usually resulting in encounters that were either embarrassing, uncomfortable, in the case of one particularly susceptible student anatomically unlikely and probably illegal in France, some combination of the above, and altogether infuriating for her. She had lucked out all of last year and her powers had laid dormant. Confident that they would manifest during the break and she'd have the Summer months to gain control of her abilities, she had signed up for the First Year Mentorship program in order to add another extracurricular to her list; active students made more attractive applicants for jobs once school was over, and even at 14 Fleur was already very ambitious.

She should have started to get wary as July passed into August and still she had not felt the growth of the Allure within her, or felt the urge to transform for the first time. Unfortunately, as so often happens in youth, the joys of friends and fun and lazy days of vacation pushed all more serious thoughts from her mind; the fact that something that had never happened before hadn't happened yet didn't permeate into her brain amidst all of the fun and excitement she was having. Added into the danger formula, Mama and Papa had been extremely busy with events outside the house and so it had slipped their minds as well. But it was forefront of everyone's thoughts on the First of September, when a relatively minor spat with her mother combined with Fleur's most recent monthly visitor had resulted in the dining room drapes being set alight via fireballs from Fleur's hands. Her father, whose marriage to her mother had necessitated strong Occlumency to shield him from the worst of the Allure's effects, nonetheless confirmed that his daughter's had arrived with a vengeance.

Her mother had explained that it was possible to dampen the Allure but it typically took a good several months of practice to learn how to do so. Fleur was to report to Beauxbatons that Thursday, and there wasn't time to arrange for an alternate Mentor, not that an extra 2 days would make much of a difference in preventing her turning the males of Beauxbatons into blithering idiots. And since she'd arrived at the school she'd been approached, chatted up, or outright propositioned by every boy who had signed up to be a Mentor, and she'd noticed at least a few of the male teachers with a glazed look in their eyes when she was in their presence. She'd been told by boys ranging from 14 to almost 18 that they were richer than the Andorran dwarf clans; or had battled dragons from their brooms; or fought ancient monsters in dark subterranean fortresses with naught but a sword; or with the flick of a wand caused the most despicable monsters you could imagine to flee in fear from their magical prowess.

Complete crazy talk.

Her . . . condition . . . would not stop her from performing her duties as well as she could, however. And so Fleur shook the memories of the last few days from her mind as she walked through into the Receiving Room off of the Entrance Hall. She approached Madame Turand as the older witch was speaking to a tall boy with short black hair. _Must be one of the other Mentors_ she thought, for no First Year could be that tall. {{". . .oh good, here she is now."}} she heard the teacher say as the boy turned toward her. {{" _Mademoiselle_ Delacour, this is your First Year, _Monsieur_ Black."}} Fleur looked up to find deep grey eyes appraising her quietly. _Merde_ Fleur thought. _Just my luck to get the one First Year whose balls have already dropped. This won't be good._

Still, she walked up to the pair and smiled. {{" _Bonjour, Monsieur_ Black"}} Fleur said simply as she put her hand forward.

{{" _Bonjour, Mademoiselle"_ }} AJ answered, taking the proffered hand and shaking it once before letting the hand drop. {{"Please call me AJ."}}

 _Hmph. Perhaps not as grown up as I thought. So much the better_ Fleur thought before continuing. {{"Very well, AJ. You may call me Fleur. You can leave your trunk for the elves; I thought we'd start with a tour of the grounds and work our way into the mansion proper."}} _That will keep us away from most of the other boys, and allow me some room to maneuver should he get . . . handsy._

{{"I am at your disposal, Fleur _"_ }} AJ answered easily, and together the two made their way toward a set of doors that led into the gardens and grounds of the school.

They'd almost made the outside when a shout came from behind them. {{"Fleur, what are you doing with that loser? If you wanted a romantic stroll in the gardens all you had to do was ask; I'd be a much better time than that little _couillon_!"}} Both turned, and Fleur inwardly groaned as she saw Armand Buisson, one of the Seventh Year mentors who was a self-absorbed, narcissistic creep on the best of days. Unfortunately he also seemed weak-willed and particularly susceptible to her Allure; he had been one of the most adamant and forceful of her 'suitors' since she'd arrived. He strutted toward them, a young boy struggling to keep up with the teen's longer strides. He stopped when right in front of them.

{{"Armand, you are embarrassing yourself,"}} Fleur said haughtily, trying her best to control both the situation and her trepidation. {{"I understand you are unaware of it, but you are. Besides, you have your newcomer to guide."}}

{{"Bah, they'll find someone else for him. I can think of much better ways to spend my time,"}} Armand responded, reaching out a hand for Fleur which she promptly slapped away. {{"Don't be like that, Fleur,"}} the boy practically purred. {{"Let me show you what these hands can do."}} He reached for her again, but before Fleur could rebuff him this time Armand found himself on one knee gasping in pain, his hand in a very painful wrist lock courtesy of the 'little _couillon_.'

{{"I believe the _mademoiselle_ said no,"}} AJ commented simply, {{"and I believe she meant it. It would behoove you to learn some manners before someone teaches them to you."}} AJ put slightly more pressure on Armand's wrist, forcing a grunt from the older boy, before AJ released his hold. Armand sprung back up and turned, but AJ stood his ground, staring the Frenchman down and using the force of will gained from years of training to outwardly control his concern at the situation. AJ was big for his age, yes, and Remus had made sure he knew how to handle himself, but he still gave up 20 kilos at least to Armand, and though he had experience dealing with bullies larger than himself he normally had Harry at his back; it made him miss his brother even more than he already was. None of that showed on his face as he continued to stare up impassively at Armand; he'd learned at a very young age that control over his emotions was crucial to maintaining his Occlumency.

The staring contest continued for a moment before Armand scoffed. {{"Like Fleur would honestly ever go for the likes of you. All you've done today is aggravate me, _connard_ , and I never forget the people that aggravate me."}}

{{"Well then, consider me sufficiently awed by your magnificence, apologetic in the face of your majesty, and properly cowed by your menace,"}} AJ responded sarcastically before giving a mock bow. {{"Now, if you will excuse us."}} Not waiting for an answer AJ offered Fleur his arm, which she took almost in a daze, and the black-haired youth quickly moved them out onto the grounds of the school.

They had been walking for almost 10 minutes before Fleur managed to say anything. {{"Thank you for that, though it probably was not a wise thing to do. Armand holds a lot of sway amongst the upper years."}}

AJ just shrugged. {{"Perhaps not but I hate bullies and I could tell that you were uncomfortable."}}

{{"He can't help himself,"}} Fleur replied quietly; yes Armand was a jerk but he wasn't entirely to blame.

{{"Is that because he's a pompous prig, or does not being able to help himself have something to do with the aura you're giving off?"}} AJ asked.

Fleur looked over at him as they continued to walk. {{"You can feel it?"}}

{{"I'd imagine everyone can. It's very . . . potent."}}

{{"Then why aren't you a drooling mess professing your undying devotion?"}} she responded impulsively before she could catch herself.

{{"Should I be? Would you like me to be?"}}

{{"No and . . . no,"}} Fleur answered, blushing slightly in embarrassment at her comment and the unexpected thought stutter that had caused the delay before her second 'no.' {{"It's just . . . I've been here 2 days and have not been able to hold a conversation with a boy without them falling all over themselves. You're obviously . . . developed,"}} she continued awkwardly. {{"Normally it takes either a very strong will or being an Occlumens to maintain control. What makes you special?"}}

AJ cringed. He and Harry had plenty of experience with the magical world, but by and large had grown up in the non-magical one. One of the upshots of that was most of their friends would have no idea how to even spell Legilimens, let alone know what it meant. That, they decided, had been for the best; natural Legilimens were not at all common, and as a result there wasn't much literature on the condition. What little was published, however, pointed at them being generally shunned throughout wizarding culture once they were outed; people tended to distrust them, and certainly didn't appreciate their thoughts and feelings being read without their permission, whether the Legilimens could help it or not. A trained Legilimens was fine as it required a spell being cast, letting people know that something was happening. A natural Legilimens, however, was usually ostracized and marginalized. Which honestly usually worked out for the Legilimens as well as without strong Occlumency, which in and of itself was difficult to learn, it was very easy to be overwhelmed by the thoughts and emotions of those around them. Many of the natural Legilimens throughout history had gone insane and/or eventually committed suicide, unable to take either the mental overload or the solitude.

He had a problem here, though. AJ hadn't expected his Occlumency to ever become known; it wasn't something that just came up in conversation. He certainly hadn't expected it to come into play not even an hour after arriving at school. If he told Fleur he was an Occlumens she'd want to know why. She obviously knew what an Occlumens was, so it was a good bet that she knew the term 'Legilimens' as well, even though it wasn't something known to most school-aged children. He'd tried to develop plans to account for knowledge of his Occlumency getting out and why he had learned it in the first place, but even his mother and Remus had agreed that the excuses they had been able to come up with had been feeble at best. The best plan he had was to try and deflect, but he ran up against a huge roadblock on that front; AJ didn't want to lie to Fleur.

AJ didn't make friends easily. As he had explained to his mother, the more familiar he became with a person - the more he established a deeper mental and emotional connection - the harder it became to not want to let his guard down around that person. The result of that, however, could very likely be an egregious invasion of privacy that most relationships would not survive. That had been another reason both he _and_ his family had to learn Occlumency aside from letting AJ relax his mental grip, as it were.

And so he limited himself, guarded himself, to make sure that fear didn't come to pass. It had been relatively easy to do growing up; aside from Remus, Harry, and his mom he hadn't formed a lot of bonds, and none nearly as strong as those he had with his family. The closest ones outside of the immediate group were his grandparents, Mato, and maybe Dora, but they only saw each other a few weeks during the summer if they were lucky, plus the medicine man was able to protect himself from AJ's ability. Fleur, though, would be in his life, or at least nearby, for at least the next four years. She could potentially be his first friend here; hell, she might end up being his only friend here. He didn't want to start that friendship off with a lie. But if she reacted to his ability the way that history had shown most people did, he wouldn't have to worry about his difficulty making friends; no one would come within 5 meters of him.

AJ stopped walking, pulling Fleur up short. Though it was something Harry was much more acquainted with than he was, he decided to trust his gut, which was saying to trust the girl in front of him. _Crap_ AJ thought to himself in defeat, adopting one of his mother's favorite cusses.

{{"I like to think there are lots of things that make me special, but in this particular case you've answered your own question about how I can keep your aura or whatever it is at bay."}}

{{"Allure."}}

{{"Excuse me?"}}

{{"It's called the Allure. It's a trait all Veela have."}} Before AJ could ask what a Veela was, Fleur spoke again. {{"You're an Occlumens? But you're only eleven."}} She looked at him warily. {{"You _are_ only eleven, yes?"}}

Despite where he knew the conversation was headed, AJ chuckled dryly. {{"I haven't been held back years, nor am I a man trapped in a boy's body like some reverse version of _Big_ , or anything like that if that's what you're asking. I started learning Occlumency the summer I turned four. I didn't really have any other choice; it was either that or live as a hermit for the rest of my life."}}

{{"I beg your pardon?"}}

AJ took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing._ {{"Fleur, I know we only just met, but if I beg you to keep what I'm about to tell you a secret, regardless of how you feel about it or me after I tell you, do you think you could do that?"}}

That rocked Fleur back on her heels, and she put herself directly in front of him, once again surprised that despite the three years difference in their age AJ and she were the same height. She stared at him and he stared back, and she saw none of the things she had seen in the eyes of the other boys she'd encountered in the last two days; no lust, impulsivity, brashness, or anything like that. What was there was . . . stoic fear was the best way she could describe it. She decided to listen to her instincts and take a leap of faith. {{"You have my word."}}

AJ looked around to make sure they were alone; even then he spoke so quietly she could barely hear him. {{"I was born a Legilimens. It started manifesting when I was three."}}

Fleur blinked rapidly; she'd expected 'son of a rich businessman who needed to keep his family's secrets,' 'witness protection program,' or something to that effect. She was pretty sure she would have picked 'time traveler' before she would have guessed AJ was a natural Legilimens. {{"So you can read minds?"}}

{{"It's much more than that, but essentially yes."}} He put his head down, all of a sudden so unsure of what he'd just done. Remus had gotten the boys portkeys that would take them to the hidden Olsberg house in case of emergencies; he was just formulating a plan on how to get his trunk and get someplace where he could use it when Fleur's delicate fingers found his chin and lifted his face back up to meet hers. There was no fear or repulsion in her features, only compassion and, dare he hope, acceptance.

{{"AJ,"}} Fleur began, trying to figure out how to word this. {{"I, perhaps more than any other student here, understand what it's like to be born with a gift, and yes you do have a gift. For me the Allure is part of who I am; part of being a Veela, which I am very proud of. Does it cause me grief? Very much so, at least right now. As I learn to control it that will lessen, though it will never go away entirely, and anyone who I am friends with,"}} here Fleur smiled at AJ, {{"will have to understand and accept that."}} She looked at him tenderly, and AJ didn't need Legilimency to know that she was speaking what she felt in her heart. {{"The same is true with you. You must have spent years learning how to control your gift, but it will always be a part of you. It will always influence you. But it doesn't have to define you. I wish to be your friend, AJ, and that means accepting you as you are, and you doing the same for me."}}

AJ's voice wasn't much above a whisper. {{"I'd like to be your friend, too."}}

{{"Excellent! Now: read my mind."}}

{{"What!? Fleur, I don't think –"}}

{{"Call it a curiosity."}}

{{"Fleur, there are things that I would see, things that you couldn't possibly want me to know about you. Things that you would never tell another living soul would be . . . exposed."}} AJ blushed. He also wasn't sure his brain could handle knowing the thoughts of a teenage girl, and that was if he could manage to keep the Allure at bay without his Occlumency, which he highly doubted. He kept those to himself, though.

The beautiful blonde looked at him intently, a look of consternation on her face. {{"Alright then, call it a baseline."}}

{{"Baseline?"}}

{{"Of course. You'll need to have something for comparison, since you're going to teach me Occlumency."}}

{{"I am?"}} Fleur nodded. {{"When did I agree to that?"}}

{{"You were just about to."}}

{{"What is it with pretty girls wanting me to teach them stuff?"}}

{{"What other pretty girls have asked you to teach them something?"}}

"Crap."

{{"Excuse me?"}}

{{"Sorry, it's one of the softer curses in English. My mother uses it a lot."}}

{{"You speak English?"}}

{{"Yes."}}

{{"Oh good. You can teach me that as well."}}

AJ just groaned. Fleur just smiled.

{-}

Since it was a Saturday night there weren't a whole lot of people in the Library so Harry, Hermione, Susan, Daphne, and Neville had managed to get a good table towards the back to work on their weekend homework. They had been plugging along for about an hour when Harry felt the mirror in his pocket vibrate, indicating someone was trying to 'call' him. Looking around to make sure no one but his friends was in sight, he pulled out the device and activated it. AJ's face appeared before he spoke. " _Bonjour, mon frère."_

"Hey, AJ."

Hermione leaned over from her chair toward the mirror with a wicked grin on her face. " _Bonjour, Antares,"_ she said before disappearing out of frame.

"Hi, Hermione. Damnit, Harry."

"Your fault. Stop calling me Harold and maybe I can convince her to stop." He looked over at his fellow Ravenclaw to see her smirking and shaking her head no. Of course AJ couldn't see that, and that just made it funnier to Harry. "Anyway, how was the first day at Beauxbatons?"

"Well, I almost got into a fight with a Seventh Year because my Mentor is a very pretty girl who can turn grown men into complete morons just by being in the same room, and apparently can also turn into some kind of winged demon that can throw fireballs. So, you know, the usual."

"You met a Veela?"

"Why yes I did, oh mystery voice Harry hasn't introduced me to yet."

"Hey!" Harry exclaimed.

"Your fault," came the reply from the mirror.

"Touché," Harry groused.

"Anyway," Daphne interrupted the back and forth between the two brothers. "Veela?"

"What's a Veela?" Hermione asked as Harry turned and tried to angle the mirror so that the entire group was in frame for AJ.

"It's a race of semi-humans that, other than being able to do pretty much what AJ described are just like any other witch," Daphne answered. "Oh, and I'm Daphne, by the way."

" _Mucho gusto_."

"Bless you."

AJ laughed before his eyes focused back on Hermione. "They're thought to originate from Southeastern Europe: Greece or Turkey or that area. In the brief primer I got on them from Fleur, their oral history has them descended from Sirens who mated with wizards."

"Fascinating," Hermione murmured, before jumping out of her chair and heading for the book stacks.

"Hey, wait!" AJ called out, but she was already gone. "Crap. I wanted to talk to her about scheduling her Runes lessons. Oh, speaking of that; Harry, I need a favor."

Harry looked at his brother warily. "What kind of favor?"

"Well, since I agreed to teach one of your friends Runes, I told Fleur that you would help her learn English."

"Why can't you do it? You're the linguist, after all."

"She already roped me into teaching her . . . ummm . . . other stuff, and I already agreed to teach Hermione Runes and I want to honor that. But I have to have _some_ time to actually do my own work. Plus, maybe she'll improve your French."

They chatted for a few more minutes, Harry introducing AJ to Susan and Neville, before AJ ended the call, the mirror promptly became a mirror once more, and the Hogwarts bunch went back to their homework, though Hermione was still lost in the stacks somewhere on her newest research impulse.

{-}

Wednesday, 11 September 1991

AJ sat down next to Fleur at breakfast and when she looked up she was startled at the severity of the bags under his eyes. {{"AJ, are you alright?"}}

He looked up and blinked a few times. {{"Yeah, of course. Why?"}} Instead of answering, she dug into her bag for her makeup compact, opened it, and turned it to face him. "Crap," he said when he saw how drawn and haggard he looked.

{{"Do you still want to lie to me?"}} she asked, and he winced.

{{"I didn't . . . lie, per se. There's just nothing that can be done."}} At her cocked head, he put his head very close to hers and spoke in a very low whisper. {{"I've never had to sleep around so many people before, and my Occlumency isn't as good when I'm asleep as when I'm awake. So I keep getting woken up by homesick people or angry-about-something people or,"}} he blushed, {{"happy to be around their boyfriend or girlfriend again people. It makes it very difficult to get a good night's sleep."}}

Fleur put her hand on his knee in commiseration. {{"Have you talked to Madame Maxime about it?"}}

AJ shook his head in the negative. {{"I haven't told her about my . . . ability . . . and I'm not comfortable telling her now. I'm just going to have to grin and bear until I either get used to it or somehow figure out how to practice better Occlumency in my sleep. Like I said Saturday, it's either this or live as a hermit."}}

Fleur looked about to respond when a very unwelcome voice interrupted them. {{"Good morning Fleur, _Connard_ ,"}} Armand said as he sat down across from them. {{"Getting mighty chummy already, are we? All whispers and errant touches."}}

Fleur's hand left AJ's knee and she folded both on the table in front of her primly as she turned to the older boy. {{"What do you want, Armand?"}} He had continued to make Fleur's life very difficult since the weekend and had enlisted some of his . . . _cronies? Minions?_ she thought to herself . . . to help him harass AJ as well. Apparently the big bad Seventh Year Quidditch start didn't appreciate an 11-year-old, his mentoree, blabbing to basically the entire school that AJ, another 11-year-old, had put him on his knees in two seconds flat. It did not uphold the image he had spent an entire school career cultivating.

{{"Why Fleur, I thought it would be obvious by now what I want,"}} Armand said in what Fleur assumed was supposed to be a seductive voice, reaching across the table for her hands. Upon seeing the boy's hands begin to slither across the table AJ had a sudden urge to take the letter opener (at least that's what he'd say it was if anyone asked) from his belt and drive it into the table, taking a shortcut through Armand's palm. He knew Fleur needed to deal with the teen this time, however; they'd discussed it and agreed that she would need to handle Armand when he approached her. She appreciated the gallantry and even romanticism of AJ defending her honor, but she could take care of herself.

{{"And I thought it was obvious by now that I'm not interested,"}} she replied as she pulled her hands back off the table. {{"I'm sure there are plenty of willing girls lined up for you; why not go annoy them?"}}

{{"Ah, but none of them are you, _mon cher_ ,"}} he answered with what Fleur was sure on someone who was interested would have been a 'come hither' look but to her just made him appear even more lecherous. {{"Let's be honest. I'm the best you're going to find here, and you've certainly grown up in all the right places:"}} – AJ's stabby impulse returned with a vengeance – {{"why shouldn't we be together? We'd be the golden couple of the school, probably the country in a few years' time."}}

{{"Not interested,"}} she answered simply. {{"Not now, not ever. I'd appreciate it if you let me be from now on."}} She rose from the table, both boys standing as she did. {{"AJ, I will see you after class, yes?"}}

{{"Yeah,"}} he responded without taking his eyes off Armand. Fleur looked between them for a moment before rolling her eyes, grabbing her books, and heading out of the Dining Hall. AJ thought Armand would settle now that he was out of range of the Allure, but he'd become a pretty good reader of people and could tell that his ardor toward the beautiful blonde hadn't lessened one iota. _Is he using the Allure as an excuse?_ AJ thought to himself. He didn't have time to contemplate it further as Armand spoke to him.

{{"You are becoming quite the nuisance, _Connard_."}}

{{"That's funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you."}}

Armand scowled. {{"Watch your mouth, kid, or one day it'll write a check you can't cash."}}

{{"Whatever,"}} AJ said dismissively. He was too tired to continue this farce any longer. He grabbed his bookbag and also left the hall, not noticing the older boy's gaze never leaving him the entire way.

{-}

Thursday, 12 September 1991

Potions that week was taught by a tiny, ancient woman by the name of Griselda Marchbanks. Harry and his friends learned from Dora that Madam Marchbanks was the head of the group that administered the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams. Harry secretly wondered if she'd been around long enough to administer those tests to Professor Dumbledore; she certainly looked old enough. Despite – or perhaps more accurately because of – her age she was a superb teacher, and Harry thoroughly enjoyed his Potions classes. A good part of it was introductory stuff he already knew, but Madam Marchbanks had the ability to hold the interest of her class regardless of the complexity or banality of the topic. Her praises of his abilities didn't hurt, either.

After Potions that week was another class Harry had really been looking forward to; it was time for their first flying lesson. They didn't get the chance to fly often in Switzerland; lots of tourists and lots of mountains, plus being very near the border of both France and Germany they had to worry about what people in those countries might see too. He and AJ had actually been taught how to fly by a friend of Mato's named, appropriately enough, Thomas Soaring Crow, and they'd discovered that Harry had the same natural talent on a broom as his father. The boy was eager to put that talent to good use during their class that day.

He'd tried to get Hermione and Neville to both relax about it before classes had started that morning, but both were, in his opinion, needlessly worried about it. Hermione had taken to reading any book that even mentioned flying on brooms and asking Harry all sorts of questions that really had no bearing on how to actually fly, like were brooms Charms or runic constructs, how many manufacturers were there, were there charms to make riding easier on your bum, and the like. Harry finally realized that, despite her intelligence and determination Hermione had a problem with confidence, particularly when doing something she was unfamiliar or uncomfortable with. She was an intellectual, not someone who relied on instinct like Harry, and a lot of flying ended up being natural talent, intuition and 'gut feel.'

As they dropped their books in Ravenclaw Tower he held her back as the other First Years left. Harry tugged her to a small alcove and, before she could ask what he wanted he pulled her into a hug. "Hermione you need to relax. Brooms can smell fear," he joked, and she couldn't help but laugh as her arms reflexively tightened around him. Harry still wasn't very good at the whole 'consoling' thing, though, and so put his foot in it with the next question. "What's bothering you about this? The height? Not knowing the skill of everyone around you? That the broom will drop out underneath you?"

Hermione's body tightened up and she looked at Harry reproachfully. "Well I wasn't worried about the broom until you said something!" she exclaimed.

Harry cringed but recovered quickly, putting his hands on both of her shoulders. "Hermione, do you trust me?"

She huffed but calmed. "Yes, HJ, I do."

"Then trust me on this. I'll be right beside you the entire time. I won't let you fall." Hermione's eyes widened, not just at Harry's words but at the conviction behind them. Taking a deep breath, she nodded silently in agreement. "Good. Now let's get down there and prove just how brilliant you are at everything you put your mind to." That comment put a smile on Hermione's face, and internally she forgave him for his earlier faux pas (not that she wasn't going to anyway). Harry put his arm around her shoulder and gently steered her toward the door.

As they finished getting their initial instruction and were working on calling their brooms from the ground, Harry bade Neville and Hermione to ignore the snickers from Draco, who thought it was hysterical to watch their trepidation for some reason. Then the three of them got their vicarious revenge when Madam Hooch told him that his grip was wrong and his technique sloppy. Susan and Daphne came over as soon as they were able and they each took an outside flank as Harry took the center, the two inexperienced flyers sandwiched in between. Together they made lazy circles around the Quidditch pitch, never going more than 6 feet off the ground while Neville and Hermione were learning the ropes. Their elevation and speed increased with their growing confidence levels.

The flying instructor had her hands full trying to both teach and simply keep watch on 41 First Years, a number of whom had never ridden a broom before, and a Quidditch pitch is a lot of area to try and keep an eye on. Harry did his best to watch not only his four friends but all of the other students, and so was the first to notice Draco and the youngest Weasley brother trying to body check each other off their brooms while Madam Hooch wasn't watching. Which was doubly unfortunate for Ron, as Crabbe and Goyle made their way over and he didn't notice until it was too late.

What Ron should have done was dive for the ground; instead he decided to accelerate and climb, trying to outrun them. As he tried to speed over the two brutes' heads, Goyle reached up and grabbed Ron by the ankle; not the brightest thing to do, but then he wasn't the brightest boy. Ron's momentum yanked Goyle right off his broom, and the added unbalanced weight caused the redhead to fall off his. The two tumbled the 15 or so feet to the ground, Goyle partially breaking Ron's fall but both still crying out in pain as the sound of more than one thing snapping echoed around the pitch.

"What is going on over there?!" Madam Hooch yelled as she sped over to the two boys writhing in pain on the ground, Ron holding his left arm close to his chest while Goyle was holding his side. The instructor quickly wove her wand over each boy. "Broken ulna and two cracked ribs. I'd best get you both to the Hospital Wing." She Levitated both boys and began trekking toward the castle. "Now I don't want to see anyone on a broom while I'm gone or it'll be detention with Mr. Filch for a month." Her threat delivered, she walked out through the spectator exit.

"Did you see that idiot?" Draco sneered when Hooch was out of sight. "Trying to climb to get away when he should have dove."

"Well your Shadow Number 1 wasn't too bright about it either, grabbing his leg like that," retorted one of the boys that Harry had crossed the lake with the day they'd arrived; for the life of him Harry couldn't remember the boy's name, just that he'd been sorted into Hufflepuff.

Draco ignored the barb as he reached his hand to the ground. "Well look what we have here. Looks like Weasel dropped his wand." The boy examined the length of wood. "Old. Worn. Look, there's even a bit of unicorn hair sticking out of the top. Pathetic. The whole family: nothing but a bunch of filthy blood traitor paupers."

Now Ron Weasley wasn't any great friend of Harry's, but he liked his older brothers, and even if he didn't Harry hated bullies. He stepped toward Malfoy, holding out his left hand while his right had his wand hidden at his side. "Give that here, Malfoy. I'll make sure it gets to Fred and George so they can return it."

Draco had been eager to re-engage with Potter, trying to show the entire year who really held the power. "Why don't you make me, Potter?" he jibed.

"Is that what you want, Draco?" Harry asked quietly, almost menacingly. "That's not what I want. All I want is for you to return property that doesn't belong to you, but if it comes down to me making you do the right thing, I will."

"Oooohhh, big words Potter. Let's see you back them up." Draco felt confident, still having Crabbe as backup should Potter decide to get physical. Sure enough, the large boy cracked his knuckles as if getting ready to participate in the Marquess of Queensbury's preferred sport.

Both Slytherins, however, seemed to have forgotten that they were wizards, a fact that was reinforced when Harry's wand arm came up. " _Expelliarmus!_ " he called out, and Ron's wand flew out of Draco's hand and into Harry's.

"You . . . you cast a spell at me!" Draco yelled. "I'll see you expelled!"

Harry just rolled his eyes at that comment. "Says the boy that I saw laughing their ass of as they cast Stinging Hexes at Dean and Seamus on Monday?" The two Gryffindors eyes Draco angrily, daring him to refute what pretty much the entire class knew; it wasn't really a secret since he'd done it as the two Houses were walking out of Defense.

Being called out at his own hypocrisy, though, only raised the blond boy's ire even higher. Fuming, he changed gears. "I wasn't ready. In a fair fight I'd take you apart. In fact: tonight. Midnight. Wizard's duel, just you and me, Potter. We'll see who's the better wizard."

"A duel? What is this, 1730?" The gathered crowd snorted. "I'm not dueling you, Draco."

"What, scared to face me, Potter?"

"Yes, I'm quivering in fear," Harry responded, the sarcasm clearly evident in his tone. "Malfoy, if you think I'm going to go running around the halls after curfew just to get the satisfaction of whooping your sorry behind then you're a bigger fool than I thought. And that's saying something." The other students again laughed, and Draco's face turned red with rage.

"We'll see who's laughing when my father hears of this!" Draco yelled before storming off.

Harry looked over at his friends, who were all gathered in a cluster with the rest of the year group. "Did he . . . did he just say that he's going to go cry to Daddy?"

More laughter followed Draco off of the pitch as he tried to make it look like he wasn't running away.

{-}

Thursday, 19 September 1991

As he had every day since he arrived at Hogwarts, Harry came downstairs that Thursday morning to see Hermione sitting in one of the Common Room chairs with her head buried in a book. They were usually the first ones down, as Hermione liked to get breakfast in early to give herself time to get ready for class. And, as she had every day since she'd arrived at Hogwarts, Hermione could sense Harry's presence in the room without having to look up. "Good morning, HJ," she said, as she said every morning.

"Good morning, HJ," he said, his typical response to her morning greeting. It had become a thing between them; she was the only one that still called him HJ as he'd tried to get people to do on the train; though she didn't do it all the time she always did it when they said good morning. They discussed it one night and agreed that they enjoyed having this little ritual that was just theirs. This morning, though, he added "Happy birthday, Hermione."

She looked up with a surprised expression on her face as he held four wrapped presents in his hands. "How did you know?"

Harry looked a bit sheepish. "Well, I guess Mom and your parents hit it off at the train station, and they've been keeping in touch since we started school. Your mom mentioned to mine that this was going to be the first birthday that they wouldn't be able to spend with you, so I said that I would do my best to make sure that you had a good day."

Hermione's eyes were a little watery as she stood and wrapped Harry in a tight hug, one of his arms held out behind her to keep her from crushing her presents between them. "Thank, you, Harry," she said after a moment before pulling back. He once again offered the gifts, which she took gratefully and sat back down. She stopped and looked up at him. "Wait a second. Your mum lives in Switzerland, doesn't she?"

"She does."

"Then how is she keeping in touch with my parents? That would be a really expensive international phone call, and owls would take days and days."

Harry kneeled in front of her and pulled one present to the top. "Open that one first and it should explain." Hermione crinkled her brow but opened the present. Tugging aside the tissue paper she discovered a mirror 8 centimeters by 12. She looked up at Harry to see him smiling. "Yes, it's what you think it is. And yes, Remus gave your parents one as well; the magic is in the mirror so they can use it just fine. That's how Mom has been talking to them, and now you can, too. And you don't have to borrow mine twice a week so AJ can teach you Runes."

Hermione smiled and hugged him again, which he gratefully returned. "It means that I can talk to you over breaks, too," she said, and she bit her lower lip for a moment before continuing. "We've only known each other a couple of weeks, but you're already the best friend I've ever had," she admitted. "You don't judge me because I love to read and to learn. You don't care that I ask a million questions about things that must seem so easy or trivial to you because you've grown up with them. And don't think I haven't noticed how you've been smoothing things out between me and the rest of the tower when I get into one of my moods," she finished with a look that was supposed to be accusatory but honestly Harry just thought it looked adorable.

Harry looked at her in a way that she didn't recognize, though he seemed to be contemplating something deeply. When he spoke it was quiet. "I had a lot of friends growing up, but most of them . . . well, Mom used to say that I was 'politely ephemeral' with my friendships. I had to look that up to see what she meant, but when I did I figured out she was right. I had people I called friends, but there's something more to friendship than just calling someone a friend, isn't there? Or at least there should be. AJ has been the one constant over the years, at least to where I would feel like it would be proper to call him a 'best friend.' But I've always seen him as my brother, not my best friend." A sudden urge came to Harry and, as he usually did, he followed his instincts. He squared his shoulders, his decision made. "Therefore, and to wit, and all that other important sounding stuff," Hermione giggled, "Miss Hermione Granger, I'd like to offer you the position of best friend to Mister Harry Potter, now and in perpetuity. What do you say?"

Hermione laughed. "I would be happy to accept the offer to be Mister Potter's best friend, with the proviso that he act in a similar capacity toward myself, now and in perpetuity. Do we have an accord?" She said it all in the most posh voice she could manage and thrust her hand out. Harry chuckled as he shook it, sealing their friendship for all time. "Now, what else have we got here?" she asked, grabbing for one of the other wrapped boxes. She was the birthday girl, after all.

{-}

A great gray owl floated down to Hermione's plate at breakfast, alighting gracefully and furling its wings while hooting its greetings to its deliveree. The newly-minted 12-year-old wiped her mouth with a napkin before reaching toward the owl. "Hello there. What have you got for me?" In response, the owl tilted its head toward one of its legs, which showed a small parcel attached to it. She gently removed the owl's burden before handing it a piece of ham steak. The raptor grabbed it eagerly and took off, presumably to enjoy its breakfast and get some sleep. Hermione, meanwhile, tried to take stock of the small paper-wrapped, twine-secured package.

"That's probably from AJ," Harry offered from across the table. "He mentioned putting something in the post for you, but he didn't know how long it would take an owl to get here from France; it looks like it made good time. Do a _Finite_ on it and it should return to normal size." Pulling her wand and doing as Harry suggested, she was surprised to see the package increase to a respectable size. Smiling, Hermione undid the twine and pulled back the wrapping, revealing an envelope addressed to her, and another to Harry, attached to the top of a colorfully papered gift. Handing Harry the letter addressed to him, she opened the other to find a very cute birthday card where AJ had written 'Happy Birthday' both in English and in Elder Futhark, the first runic alphabet he was teaching her because it was simpler to learn than Younger Futhark. She smiled as she read the note below that:

 _I hope that you have a good birthday, and that with the mirror you had a chance to speak to your parents on your special day. I also hope you like your present; I managed to get a copy owl ordered to me, but it showed up later than I'd have liked so I'm not sure when it's going to get to you. Hopefully it does before our next lesson on Thursday night, as I thought it would be easier to teach with something that, if Harry's stories about you are true, you've probably already read, as well as something entertaining._

Her curiosity raised, Hermione opened the box to find that AJ had managed to find a copy of _The Lord of the Rings_ translated into runes. She laughed quietly, figuring that she'd finally found a book that she wouldn't burn right through. She went back to the message in the card.

 _I could teach you Sindarin, too, if you like._ Hermione blushed slightly, thinking about how to admit that she already knew Sindarin from having read the books so many times even at so young an age. _One way or the other, though, I look forward to speaking to you then. And, again, Happy Birthday. Yours truly, AJ_

Looking across at Harry she saw him with a very odd-looking knife slicing open the top of his letter. "Harry," she began quietly so only they would hear, "why would AJ send you a letter when you have the . . . the you-know-whats?"

"His idea," Harry said as he placed the knife on the table and opened the missive from his brother. "He was afraid that if I spend the majority of the next seven years speaking English, and he spends it speaking French, then we're going to be stuck at an 11-year-old reading level for German. So we agreed we'd write each other one letter a week, in German, just to make sure we don't forget."

"That's . . . actually a rather good idea," she commented.

"We've both been known to have them," Harry answered while perusing the letter. "Him more than me. You don't speak 8 languages, plus know half a dozen runic alphabets, at 11 years old without being pretty brilliant."

"True, but don't sell yourself short either," Hermione stated before pointing at the item Harry had laid down. It looked almost like an ornately-bladed scalpel with a very thin grip. "That's very interesting."

"Oh, yeah," he responded sheepishly. He held it up. "Pops had them made for AJ and me, though his is different from mine. This one's modeled after a medieval glaive. The blade is also good enough that I can use it as a potions knife if I have to. Neat, huh?"

"Very," she answered. "Your mom and Remus really made sure you and AJ were prepared, didn't they?"

"Yup," Harry said. "For me, they knew that there might be crazy stuff going on around me because of what I am to wizarding Britain; all that Boy-Who-Lived nonsense. For AJ . . . well, let's just say it's a family problem and leave it at that." Hermione had never been good at the 'leave it at that' school of thought, but she did decide that she wasn't going to get anything more out of Harry about it, at least not right now. Instead, she opened the book she'd been gifted and started trying to translate the tail of Mr. Bilbo Baggins celebrating his eleventy-first birthday, a small smile on her face.

{-}

Later that evening Hermione was holed up in an empty classroom on the ground floor, her birthday present, a runic dictionary, and her associated stationery and note-taking supplies set out neatly. Her friends had wanted to throw her a party, but to her this right here, learning something 2 years earlier than she would normally be allowed to, was one of the best ways to spend a birthday she could think of. However, her teacher had yet to call her and it was already 15 minutes past when they were supposed to start.

 _He probably got caught up in something_ she thought. _I'll call him and see what's wrong._ Picking up the mirror from where she'd leaned it upright, she spoke. "A.J.B." She held the object in her hands and could feel the slight tingle the indicated that the far side mirror was signaling its owner. However, after over a minute of waiting there was still no response, and she put the mirror down to sever the connection. "Hmph," she said out loud. "Silly boys and their silly distractions. Fine. I'll start working without him." Nodding to herself in righteous frustration, she opened _The Lord of the Rings_ and her dictionary and began working out the intricacies of the language. _It would really be nice to have a_ teacher _for this_ she harrumphed.

{-}

Over a thousand miles to the South, in a hidden away corner of a rarely-traversed section of a magnificent magical chateau, her teacher lay bloody, bruised, broken, and, unfortunately for Hermione but blissfully for AJ, unconscious.

* * *

A/N: I know I said that I'd try to keep chapters to smaller than this, but I couldn't help it. In case you haven't noticed yet I'm also a bit of a cliffhanger junkie, ever since I watched the ST:TNG episode "The Best of Both Worlds Part 1" in 1990. One of my favorite and most painful cliffies I've ever experienced, and ever since I've felt the need to deliver that same pain unto my fellow man. Sorry.

 _Big_ came out in 1988. Awesome movie.

My biggest concern driving has always been trust issues. I don't 100% trust the vehicle, even if it's mine. I don't trust the road surface. And I don't trust my fellow drivers, no offense to anyone I've shared a road with. I migrated those trust issues to Hermione with flying. Too many variables her logical mind can't account for.

I understand Hooch was probably speaking in hyperbole, but doesn't threatening expulsion for flying when she wasn't around seem a bit excessive?

As always, thank you all so much for your follows, favorites, views, and reviews. I do indeed read every single one, though I'm terrible at responding to them.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: {{"TEXT"}} represents spoken French. I apologize to all French speakers if I use an idiom or phrase that is not appropriate for the language, as I speak not a lick of French.

* * *

Thursday, 19 September 1991 (earlier)

AJ was walking down the Beauxbatons hallway in a bit of a daze. Almost two weeks without a good night's sleep was really taking its toll on him. _It's amazing how loud sleeping people can still be_ he grumbled in his own head as he wandered aimlessly. It had become a kind of ritual for him, heading to the least-used areas of the chateau so that he could relax his Occlumency and try to find some peace. He'd debated going to the school healer for a potion that would help but wasn't sure if that sort of thing would get back to Madame Maxime or not and so decided to tough it out. It was getting slowly better, but he still woke up a few times in the night on average. And this time of day, between the end of classes and the evening meal, was the worst time for his energy levels.

Unfortunately it was also the worst time for attention to his surroundings, and even with his mind open to the thoughts of others he was taken by surprise when the corridor was blocked by two figures, each holding a Beater's bat. His mental barriers immediately snapped back in place as he tried to assess the situation. Both were older boys that he'd seen hanging around with –

{{"I tried to warn you, _Connard_ "}} came the voice from behind him. {{"I told you that getting on my bad side was going to be bad for your health. But you just had to keep getting between me and Fleur."}} AJ turned and there was Armand, a bat in his hand and a dangerous smirk on his lips.

The older boy had chosen his ambush spot well. When he'd encountered Armand before it was always in public, a spot where neither could take the confrontation much beyond words. Here, though, in this quiet corner of the chateau, there was no one to intervene. AJ fought his emotions, willing himself to remain calm despite the adrenaline that had started to flow through his system. He could feel his wand nearly vibrating in its holster at his side. He'd noticed not long after he'd first gotten it that it was tightly aligned with his own emotions, and when he lost control it tended to as well. Which led to spectacular but dangerous magic when he tried while they were in that state; he'd accidentally melted a tree on the reservation that first summer when he was only 9. It was yet another reason to keep a tight rein on his feelings. He pulled himself from the memories to respond to Armand. {{"There is no you and Fleur."}}

{{"Not yet,"}} Armand responded cryptically. {{"But there are ways of drawing the notice of otherwise uninterested parties aside from the whore's Allure, _Connard_."}}

AJ was confused; he understood the teen was probably talking about love, lust, and/or loyalty potions, but his epithet for Fleur didn't make any sense. Unless . . . {{"So I was right. You aren't being affected by Fleur's Allure, at least not as much as the others. You're just using it as an excuse to be a bastard."}}

Armand laughed. {{"Oh I've known since she arrived what she is and what she would one day be capable of. My father and I discussed it repeatedly, and he decided that I would do well to learn to guard my mind in preparation for her . . . emergence. It was Father's idea that I woo her as soon as she showed the appropriate signs, assisted by chemical means after the first inkling of interest. She'd be young, confused, and vulnerable; the steady older hand of the most popular man in school would make our relationship not seem out of place. It would require a great deal of effort, breaking her to my and Father's wills, but with how that body of hers will develop I'm sure I could make the experience . . . worthwhile for myself. The effort would be worth the prize."}}

{{"Prize?"}} AJ retorted. {{"Fleur isn't some prize to be taken or won."}}

{{"Ah, but I disagree, _Connard_. The stories are legend, of how Veela are able to seduce any that they desire. Imagine it,"}} Armand said, beginning to pace back and forth. {{"Imagine the power having a creature like that under your sway would be. Walk her into a room and any business rival would sell their soul to make the deal that landed her in their bed. I could easily triple Father's profits."}}

{{"This is about money? You want to sell Fleur to increase your family business?"}}

Armand chuckled. {{"Well, it's about sex too. It would be a shame to waste all of her on other people, after all."}}

AJ felt his blood surge even stronger at that comment, could feel his wand heating up his thigh. He fought it down, though, and struggled to take proper stock of his predicament. He was in an isolated area of the school boxed in by at least 3 assailants, all of them armed; for whatever reason (probably spite, since AJ had put Armand down without magic) they obviously wanted this to be a physical as opposed to a magical altercation. He briefly considered going for his wand but knew that he was in too close against larger opponents; he'd be hit by one or more of the bats before it even cleared its sheath. _I need to stall, find an opening to escape._ {{"This doesn't seem very bright,"}} AJ commented. {{"I mean I know who you all are, and if I show up in the Infirmary all tuned up you are going to get expelled."}}

Instead of instilling doubt, Armand just smiled broader. {{"Ah, that's the beauty of this, though, _Connard._ Another benefit of learning at my father's knee. You see, once you're a bloody pile on the ground I'm going to _Obliviate_ you back to your days in diapers. The memory loss will be attributed to head trauma, you'll spend the rest of your life as a drooling mess, and though everyone will know it was me, without any proof of my involvement and all three of us knowing Occlumency, Father will have any potential charges dropped and I can continue with my plans unhindered by your constant meddling."}}

 _Well at least that explains why I didn't feel them coming_ AJ thought before a ridiculous comment just begged to be spoken. {{"'Constant meddling?' What are you, a _Scooby Doo_ villain?"}} AJ had to say. At the confused looks, he sighed. {{"Forget it."}} _Okay, so Plans A and B are out._ Plan C involved the letter opener, but while he'd likely survive the fight if he used it, he'd almost surely be expelled, if not arrested.

While AJ continued making and discarding plans, arguing in his mind the merits of the letter opener, Armand looked over AJ's shoulder at his compatriots as he twirled the bat in his hand by the grip several times. {{"I think it's time we finish this up,"}} Armand said. {{"Take him."}}

The older boy surged forward, bat swinging wildly. AJ quickly moved inside the swing arc of the bat, taking a glancing hit (that still hurt like hell) to the side in order to deliver a quick punch to Armand's solar plexus and a left hook that landed squarely on his opponent's jaw, stunning him momentarily. He grabbed the now dazed Armand by the shoulders and twirled, putting the other boy between himself and his other two attackers, before pushing hard. He didn't wait to see if his tactic of using Armand as an obstacle worked or not; he was already bolting down the hallway.

He turned left and then right, his fight-or-flight response overriding his normally logical mind and unknowingly sending him deeper into the far corners of the chateau. But as long as he could hear the clomping footsteps from somewhere behind him he dared not stop and get his bearings; he needed to find a place to hide until he could either come up with a better plan or they gave up the chase. _Fat chance of that_ he thought. _Any accusation may not go far toward getting them in trouble, but if I get to Fleur and tell her what Armand said, what little chance his scheme to get with her had is completely gone. It sounds like he, and perhaps his father, have put too much effort into this to be denied._ He now wished he'd already given Fleur the mirror he had for her, but like Harry with Hermione he was waiting until her birthday to give it to her; it was only a week and a half away. Those 11 days seemed like an eternity now, and he didn't figure calling anyone else would be helpful. _Why does this damned house have to be so big?_ he thought as he sped wildly through the halls.

Apparently it wasn't big enough, as when he turned a corner blindly he was met by the full force of a bat striking his midsection. He felt at least one thing crack as he very nearly flipped completely over the outstretched weapon and skidded a few feet down the hallway. He scrambled to his feet but found it difficult to draw a full breath; running was now out of the question. AJ backpedaled a bit more, putting about 4 meters between them as the teen who had struck him stood menacingly; he would seem to be waiting until Armand and his other compatriot caught up to them. Not knowing how long that would take, and now not knowing if both of the other two were behind him or behind his opponent (he hadn't known someone was ahead of him, after all), AJ looked around for a new plan.

Seeing a door to his right, AJ bolted through it and into what looked like an old classroom. _What could they possible have been teaching all the way out here?_ AJ thought absently while he drew his wand and cast a quick _Colloportus_ on the door. It wouldn't hold them for long; they were older and so likely more magically powerful than him, so it would only be the work of a few moments to undo the spell. Still, it was a few moments for AJ to update his assessment of things and prepare for the next wave.

" _Interdum osse fractum,_ " AJ incanted with his wand pointed at his torso, and couldn't stop the tears or the scream of pain following by a sob as whatever ribs were broken snapped themselves back in place. _No idea if they're where they're supposed to be. I'll get them fixed by the nurse if I get out of this_ he thought as he moved toward the front of the classroom. He could try to fight them magically – if his wand had any intellect at all it was practically begging him to at this point - but like with the door it was likely he'd be overmatched in short order, especially with there being three of them. A French flag hanging on a pole seated into a stand on the floor gave him an idea, and he unceremoniously pulled the pole from the stand and then the flag from the pole. Luckily the pole was sectioned and he pulled it apart at its central seam, ending up with 2 1-meter lengths of wood. Just in time, too, as the door burst open and the three teens piled in.

 _Looks like it's Plan Q_ AJ thought to himself as he tested his makeshift weapons. He was under no illusion that they would hold up long against Beater's bats; the latter were designed to strike cannon ball-like Bludgers without breaking, after all. Still, they were better than what he'd had, which was nothing. He couldn't stop the image of him and Harry play-fighting in the woods behind the house the day that they'd received their letters. AJ once again wished his brother was with him but shook the thought away as Armand came to the fore, a nasty bruise forming on his cheek from where AJ had clocked him.

{{"Well aren't you just full of surprises,"}} Armand quipped, tucking his wand back in his pocket. {{"I should just Petrify you and then wipe your memories, but after this,"}} Armand ran a finger gingerly along the bruise AJ had given him, {{"I'm even more convinced that beating you to a pulp was the right way to go. So much more satisfying."}} Armand's cronies fanned out to either side of him, wicked smiles on their faces and their bats out in front of them.

The one to AJ's right moved first and took a sidelong swing at AJ with his bat. AJ turned his body into the strike and brought both sticks up, blocking the strike and putting him in close with his opponent. An elbow to the face and a kick sweep of the boy's legs had him at least temporarily out of the fight. Unfortunately it also gave the other two time to close, and AJ instinctively moved his arm up to block an attack from Armand that would likely have broken his jaw, if not his skull; judging from the pain it almost certainly broke at least one of the bones in his forearm and would severely bruise his bicep. AJ swung the stick in his other hand down as hard as he could, taking grim satisfaction in the way Armand's knee buckled with the strike.

The third assailant got in a hit on AJ's now exposed left side, the flag-pole-cum-weapon on that side having fallen from his hand as his arm had broken. The strike was clumsy and did not have a lot of power, but was still enough to shoot pain up AJ's back and aggravate his already damaged ribs. He pulled back to strike again, but this time the younger boy was ready, blocking the attack with his remaining stick before twirling it to gain momentum before it collided hard with the side of the other boy's head. AJ had just an instant to see the teen's eyes glaze before he dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.

Before AJ could turn he felt a pair of arms grab him from behind and throw him hard into the chalkboard on the front wall. His head cracked against the slate on impact and he felt the sting where the chalk tray had dug into his flesh. Dazed, he was unable to defend against the two quick body blows that partially doubled him over. His hair was grabbed and yanked up hard before a fist landed on his left eye socket and he stumbled to the side.

Armand had lost all reason. This boy, this _child_ , was proving to be far more trouble than a weak little First Year should ever be, especially against someone like him. The teen's jaw throbbed from the punch he'd taken and he could not put a lot of weight on his injured knee, but it only served to fuel his rage more. Had he been thinking clearly he would have gone for his wand and ended the encounter while AJ was stunned, but a primitiveness had overtaken his mind and he only saw red. He sprang at AJ and tackled him to the ground before beginning to rain blows down on his opponent's head. AJ managed to get one foot free, and most of the swings were blocked by hands that had come up in reflexive defense, but AJ was dazed and his left arm weakened by the broken bone, and more blows landed on that side than the other.

AJ, left eye swollen and closing, nose and lips now running with blood, desperately defended against Armand's attacks, knowing that to give up now would likely mean, if not the end of his physical life, then certainly the end of his mental one, as Armand wouldn't hesitate to Obliviate him back to the womb after this. He had to get out from under his older, larger opponent before the damage became too much for him to continue functioning. Luckily, Armand seemed almost animalistic in his attacks, and an opportunity presented itself. Armand's left hand gripped the front of AJ's robes tightly as he pulled his right back as far as he could, twisting his body to bring all to bear in the punch. AJ locked onto the hand at his chest and brought he free leg up to Armand's hip. Planting his straddled leg and using the hand at his chest as a pivot point, AJ pulled on it hard while simultaneously lifting his hips and pushing out with the leg at Armand's hip. This power, combined with Armand's momentum already pulling him in more or less the correct direction, allowed AJ to completely flip the older boy over and off of him.

Armand landed on his back hard, the breath momentarily knocked out of him. That moment was all AJ needed though as his wand, the one that had been nearly burning a hole in its holster begging to be used, was finally allowed to take action. " _Petrificus Totalus,_ " AJ incanted, and Armand's body locked up as his arms snapped to his sides. AJ quickly repeated the spell on his other two opponents before they could get their wits about them again and then, with the aid of the teacher's desk, he stood up. " _Stupefy,_ " he spoke, and three beams of red light sprung from the length of wood at the single casting, his wand somehow understanding that all three enemies needed to be dealt with.

AJ didn't have the concentration at the moment to contemplate that, however. He had a broken arm, at least several cracked ribs, some twice, a broken nose, his left eye was useless, he was missing a few teeth, and he almost certainly had a concussion. He knew he was not going to be mobile much longer, but also knew that he had to get away from these three. He didn't delude himself that he would be functional enough to make it to help, but as long as he wasn't in sight when they came to he thought he would be okay. He stumbled out into the hall and moved completely at random as he fought to stay conscious. He saw a door and opened it, finding another classroom. He entered and languidly closed the door, the world starting to spin even worse than it had been. " _Colloportus,_ " he said, taking dazed satisfaction at hearing the door squelch as it secured itself. In a moment of temporary clarity, AJ then grabbed one of the chairs in the room and propped it under the doorknob as an additional obstacle should his hiding place be discovered. _Wish I'd thought of that the last time._ That was the end of his reserves, however, and he landed hard on his backside as the strength left his legs.

 _Hermione is gonna be pissed when I miss our lesson_ was his final thought before falling back onto the floor. His head hit hard but thankfully he was already unconscious and so did not register the additional injury.

{-}

Panic flooded through Fleur as she hurried along the hallway. AJ had not shown up at dinner. He always made a point to sit with her at every meal, but for the first time since their meeting he was nowhere to be found. What was worse, when she took a head count of the Dining Room she discovered that Armand was also absent. A shiver of fear had run down her spine when she'd made the observation, and after learning from his yearmates that AJ hadn't been seen since the end of classes she moved at speed toward the Infirmary. If both AJ and Armand were missing, then it was a good possibility one or both would have ended up there.

As she approached the doors she saw the school healer, Madame Fiori, levitating three stretchers ahead of her. Her pace quickened at this, and she met the four, along with Madame Maxime, just as they reached the doors. {{"What has happened?"}}

{{"Mademoiselle Delacour, please return to your dorm. This is a matter for the staff,"}} the tall Headmistress of Beauxbatons said. Fleur, however, heard not a word as she focused her gaze on Armand, most of the right side of his face bruised and with a supporting splint around his knee. Seeing this, plus the state the other two with him were in, drove her blood to boil. Her normally perfect nose and lips elongated into a sharp raptor-style beak, and there was a horrendous tearing sound as large, scaly wings sprouted from her back, ripping her fine silk robes to pieces and leaving her in just her skirt and blouse, the latter having also torn enough to accommodate her wings. Feathers like scale armor rolled down her arms, and beautifully manicured nails extended into sharp talons. Maxime was not fast enough to stop the transformed Veela, who grabbed the wide-eyed Armand by the throat and tore him from his stretcher.

He came to rest hard against the wall, the strength Fleur possessed when in this form more than enough to keep the teen in place with her right hand still choking him. Her other hand pulled back and a shimmering ball of blue-white flame appeared above her palm. Even with her changed features, the magic of her heritage still allowed her to speak clearly. {{"Where is AJ?"}}

{{"I don't know!"}} Armand cried, quivering in fear. Yes, he knew the stories. Yes, he'd entertained the idea that he would court, possess, and then use this creature to further his family fortune and slake his own lust. But all of that burned to ash when viewing what Fleur could become, truly seeing the monster that lay underneath the beautiful pale skin and behind the hypnotic blue eyes. He wanted nothing further to do with her; truth be told after today his only desire was to be as far away from her as possible, a feat currently impossible with Fleur's hand at his neck squeezing the life out of him.

She accentuated the fact that she was in control by pulling him forward and then slamming him against the wall again. Maxime finally drew her wand, intent on stopping the encounter before it could escalate further. What followed however, stopped her cold.

{{"I swear I don't know!"}} Armand wheezed. {{"We caught up to the little bastard in the Northwest Wing. We were going to beat him and then wipe his memory, but he got the better of us. Of all three of us,"}} Armand said the last bit in a tone somewhere between 'someone ran over my kitten' and 'I'm slowly choking on my own tongue.' {{"He knocked all three of us out, but when we came to he was nowhere to be found,"}} he managed to gasp out.

Fleur heaved the now blue-in-the-face boy back onto his stretcher before turning and striding off. Maxime finally found her voice again. {{"Mademoiselle Delacour, come back here this instant! Just where do you think you're going?"}}

Fleur continued walking. {{"To find my friend."}} She suddenly stopped and turned her head slightly back toward the headmistress, instincts overriding all sense of decorum or manners. {{"Are you going to stop me?"}}

In her life before turning to teaching Maxime had known a number of Veela, and so knew that one at any age in this state was both highly impulsive and highly dangerous, a slave to their emotions; quick to anger, and quick to act. Add in teenage hormones and it had the recipe for disaster should Fleur feel threatened. Maxime had once seen a transformed Veela take out an entire pack of werewolves: a feat, even with both her physical and magical power, she was unsure she could match. Fleur wasn't yet in Marie's league, but she certainly had the potential to be if she lived up to her ancestry. Not only was this a fight Maxime didn't want to have, she wasn't sure it was a fight she would come out of unscathed, despite the differences in their age and experience.

Still, she needed to keep Fleur from burning the chateau down. {{"No, but please take Nurse Henri with you. Monsieur Black may be injured, and I must further question these boys to determine the true extent of what has occurred. We will discuss . . . other matters . . . when you return."}} For that last part she really meant _when you're not a fireball throwing harpy,_ but that would not have helped things at all.

Fleur heard the Headmistress but her Veela side would not allow her to wait; AJ was hurt, and hurt badly. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she did. It had been less than two weeks, but he'd already found a spot in her heart nearly as deep as Mama or Papa or little Gabrielle. Had she been thinking clearly that revelation might have scared her; in this state, running strongly on impulse and instinct, all it meant was that only seeing him breathing and hearing his heart beating would be enough to assuage her concern.

{-}

Beauxbatons wasn't the size of Versailles but it wasn't small by any means, and like most magical buildings not only did it have secret corridors and stairwells strewn throughout but it also tended to modify its own internal configuration to suit necessity or its own fancy. It didn't help that outer reaches of the Northwest Wing hadn't been used since the early 1970s, both due to the stagnating of the French magical population in the wake of Grindelwald's War and the reduction in courses offered at the school. Since it wasn't used, no one had bothered to keep up with how the space had arranged itself.

It had taken Fleur about 20 minutes after the encounter outside the Infirmary to calm down enough to return to her normal form, though her agitation at not yet having found AJ after over 90 minutes of searching was threatening to return her to her more primitive form. Fleur also had to contend with Madame Henri, who was a lovely but unathletic woman who did not move with the earnestness the young witch thought the situation required. There had been several occasions where Fleur had considered just abandoning her, but the feeling that AJ was hurt and would need the nurse when she finally found him kept that desire in check.

Fleur came to a T-intersection of two hallways and stopped at the conjoining. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to quiet the raging emotions shooting through her. {{"Where are you?"}} she whispered into the air, hoping that, somehow, something would give her an answer.

As it was, she wasn't far off.

It was only when she'd calmed her mind that she felt it; a presence sliding along her rudimentary Occlumency protections, one she instantly knew the identity of. "AJ!" she cried out, and on impulse turned left and sprinted down the hallway, the nurse calling to the Veela as Fleur left her in the dust. She reached another intersection and concentrated again, being rewarded by a strong pull to her right. She followed it and eventually came up to a door about halfway down the corridor. She tried the door and found it magically sealed. " _Alohamora!_ " she cried out, and was rewarded with a slight glow indicating she'd overpowered the enchantment already on the door. However, when she tried the handle the door still wouldn't budge. Growling in agitation, she stepped back as far as she could in the wide hallway before hurling a ball of flame at the door. The wood was no match for the empowered magic of her fireball, and a large smoking hole rewarded her efforts, destroying the door and the chair behind it. Opening the door, she saw the beaten and bloody form of her friend laying on the floor.

"AJ!" she yelled again, and was immediately on her knees at his side, leaning over and putting her ear to his chest. Her own heart calmed at the sound of his thumping steadily in his chest, and her eyes closed after seeing the rise and fall indicating he was breathing. The nurse appeared in the doorway a moment later, and Fleur's body instantly came up. {{"Help him!"}} she cried. {{"Please!"}}

Nurse Henri knelt to AJ's other side, her wand moving up and down his body as she ran her scans. {{"It looks worse than it is, Mademoiselle Delacour,"}} she said after a moment. {{"Though he has a rather serious concussion, several broken bones, and a number of contusions there are no life-threatening injuries. Several days in the Infirmary and he should be at your side once more."}}

At the proclamation Fleur finally let go of the emotions she'd been tenuously holding, and tears ran down her face as she moved one hand gently through AJ's short hair. _Just a few days. He'll be alright in just a few days_ she thought as the nurse transformed a desk into a stretcher and moved AJ onto it. She Levitated the boy into the air and the trio made their way back toward the Infirmary, Fleur's hand never leaving AJ's.

{-}

Friday, 20 September 1991

It was morning before an owl could reach Cindy, and Remus could tell it was bad as he saw the way his best friend's hands began to shake. "What the fuck is wrong with these schools?" she yelled.

"What's happened?" Remus asked steadily. It was always his reaction to try and remain calm when she got like this, as she always did for him. It was a pattern picked up from their years of living together.

"AJ's been in another fight," she responded as she passed the note to Remus.

"He got into fights all the time in school," Remus responded as he took up the note.

"Yes but that was fights against bullies, and they never landed him in the nurse's office with broken bones. Kensy!" Cindy called as she stood from the table. "We're going to Beauxbatons."

"Yes, Mistress Cindy," Kensy replied. Cindy had tried she wasn't sure how many times during the early years to get Kensy to stop calling her 'Mistress;' she'd even tried a compromise of having the elf call her 'Miss Cindy,' but that had only resulted in her honorific being extended from 'Mistress' to 'Mistress Cindy.' Finally the woman had been forced to acknowledge that Kensy was what she was and there wasn't any changing her. It didn't make Cindy love or respect the little elf any less.

"Do you want me to come along?" Remus asked as Cindy prepared to leave.

"No, I'll handle this, Remus," Cindy responded as she threw on her jacket. "You got to yell at Hogwarts; it's my turn."

Remus chuckled. "Just leave the place standing when you're done."

"No promises," she growled before taking the elf's hand and disappearing with a small _pop_.

{-}

Cindy burst into the Infirmary in a rush, startling all of the current occupants. "Where's my son?" she said without preamble as all heads turned toward the angry mother at the question. She laid eyes on AJ, lying in one of the beds with a healer to one side and a very attractive young lady holding his hand on the other, and she sped in that direction. "How is he?" Seeing the look of confusion in both women's eyes, she took a deep breath before changing languages. {{"How is he?"}} she asked again, this time in French.

{{"He will be fine,"}} the nurse responded. {{"As I explained to Mademoiselle Delacour, it looks worse than it is. She will not listen, though, and will not be moved until he awakens. We gave him a Dreamless Sleep Potion to help him through the night; he should wake any time now."}}

Cindy turned toward the platinum-haired beauty holding her son's hand. {{"You must be Fleur."}}

{{"I am, and you must be Madame Black,"}} Fleur answered with a slight blush, though AJ's hand stayed firmly in hers, something Cindy didn't fail to notice. {{"It's a pleasure to meet you."}}

{{"And you, though I wish it were under different circumstances."}}

{{"As do I, Madame."}} The nurse took her leave and Cindy took her place at AJ's side, reaching for his left hand much like Fleur was holding his right. {{"Please be careful Madame Black. Both his ulna and radius on that side were broken. They were mended overnight, but still . . ."}}

Cindy nodded and she gently ran her fingertips across the back of AJ's hand and then along his forearm, searching for evidence of the breaks and finding none. Years of exposure to the wizarding world had left her in awe of many things, none the least of which was the ability to rapidly and effectively heal injuries that, in the world she grew up in, would have taken weeks or months to repair. {{"What happened?"}}

Fleur winced a bit at the query. {{"That might be better answered by the Headmistress."}}

{{"Perhaps, but I get the feeling she will give me a sanitized version of events to try and save face."}} Cindy looked over at the girl and smiled. {{"You, on the other hand, are my son's friend. A term he does not throw around lightly which means you must have made quite an impression on him. And not just because you're beautiful,"}} she finished, and Fleur blushed again at the comments from the mother of the boy whose hand she was holding.

The young witch nodded, looking down at the unconscious boy between them. {{"There is a boy. Armand. He has been . . . pursuing me since the beginning of the school year."}}

{{"Because you're a Veela,"}} Cindy said simply. AJ had told her of Fleur's lineage. As a non-magical who spent most of her life in magical society, Cindy was the last person to ostracize or judge someone because of what they were.

{{"Yes and no,"}} Fleur replied, and that pulled Cindy's eyes from AJ's face to the witch's. {{"As it turns out, he was not reacting to my Allure. When the Headmistress questioned him and his accomplices last night she discovered that he planned to . . ."}} Fleur took a deep breath, {{". . . to potion me and whore me out to further his family's business holdings."}} The young woman raked her fingers through her friend's short black hair, staring down at him lying on the bed between the two women. {{"And while AJ has been letting me handle not only Armand but all of the boys . . . affected by me, the two have still traded words on more than one occasion, and AJ has often acted as companion and escort, just in case."}}

{{"That sounds like him,"}} Cindy responded. {{"He's always been very protective; he gets it from his grandfather."}} She smiled down at her son.

{{"Did AJ tell you of the scuffle he got into on his first day here?"}} At Cindy's affirmative Fleur continued. {{"That was Armand, and the antagonism has only gotten worse. I guess yesterday Armand decided he'd had enough."}}

{{"What is to become of this boy?"}} she finally asked.

Fleur smiled menacingly. {{"Both he and his two friends are of age, so the _Bureau de la Justice Magique_ was called and all three were arrested. They've also been expelled."}}

Cindy's grin in response held every bit as much righteous vengeance as Fleur's did. She would get the name of the boy's father from the Headmistress and do some digging of her own; one of the perks of being in the ICW Counsel's Office. It wouldn't be the painful vengeance that she desired against the people who had hurt her boy, but it would do. {{"Thank you for staying with him."}}

Fleur struggled to find an appropriate answer, finally settling on simply, {{"He's my friend."}} Seeing Cindy's glance to her, she put her eyes back down to AJ and her delicate brow crinkled. {{"I don't know why I reacted the way I did when I found out what happened,"}} she began, and Cindy wasn't sure if she was talking to her, AJ, or herself. {{"Mama will be very disappointed in me to learn that I changed my form and threatened someone. And I'm sure when this is all sorted Madame Maxime will punish me for my insubordination. But . . . but I needed to know where he was. He was hurt; he needed help."}}

Cindy spent a moment thinking about how close these two seemed to already be. She had been able to read between the lines during her mirror conversations with AJ that, in addition to having found what appeared to be a true friend, he was a bit smitten with the gorgeous Frenchwoman. _Probably more puppy love at this stage of his life than anything else, the same as both he and Harry have been with Dora since they were about 7 and she was . . . well, about the same age Fleur is now_ Cindy thought to herself. Dora took it in stride, and Cindy knew that the Metamorphmagus saw both of them as siblings; indeed, they were all cousins of a fashion, so it made sense.

 _Fleur, though . . . well, we'll see what the next few years hold_ she thought. Not quite ready to go down that road yet, and not wanting to embarrass either the young lady or her son, Cindy decided on a safer response. {{"Well, if your mother does give you grief please send her my way. I'll be happy to tell her that you did it to help my son. She'll understand; moms always do when it comes to their children."}}

Fleur managed a small smile before she started talking again. Cindy wasn't sure what made the girl say what she did, but it seemed she had a lot to get off her chest. {{"When I came back to school this year everything was different. I never did have a large circle of friends; I've put too much attention into being the best that I can be, to prove to everyone that I'm not just a dumb blond bimbo like everyone thinks. But now, the boys have almost all been reduced to jabbering fools. And the girls . . . well, no girl likes it when their boyfriend, or the boy they want to be their boyfriend, starts drooling like a mastiff over another girl. It's been . . . difficult."}}

{{"AJ, though, has been my anchor in the storm."}} Fleur's voice dropped in volume. {{"I guess we're kindred spirits in a way; both burdened with our abilities, both wanting someone who might understand and accept us for who we are and not what we can do."}}

Cindy's eyes narrowed. {{"What has he told you?"}}

Fleur looked up at the older woman confidently. {{"Everything. He explained his . . . gift . . . to me not an hour after we'd met."}}

Cindy gaped. _Alright, so maybe not puppy love_ she thought. Knowledge of AJ's Legilimency was kept within a very tight circle of people. Should it make it too far into the populace he'd likely never be able to find a proper place in the magical world; he'd be labeled a pariah by narrow-minded idiots who would never let him live in peace. For him to have told her, right off the bat like that, spoke of something more. Cindy, however, was more cautious. {{"And what do you think of his 'gift'?"}}

Fleur saw the protective mother dragon come to the fore again, the one that had burst into the Infirmary ready to breath fire. She knew Cindy's opinion of her and her friendship with AJ would be judged based on her response, so she didn't want to get it wrong. She held Cindy's gaze with her own while holding the boy's hand tighter, and so missed the wince as she applied pressure. {{"It matters not one iota to me. He is my friend and I will accept him with all his gifts and flaws, because that is what friendship is."}}

{{"Is friendship also breaking my hand?"}}

"AJ!" Fleur almost yelled, looking down at his barely open grey eyes.

"Antares Jeremiah Black, you scared the daylights out of me," Cindy followed on in English as she put a hand to the side of his face.

"Sorry, Mom, it wasn't my idea," he responded groggily. "All I did was go for a walk."

"And mix it up with an older boy. Three, actually."

AJ shrugged as his awareness cleared. "I didn't mean to. They started it. I just finished it."

Cindy shook her head. "God, there's so much of your grandfather in you it's frightening sometimes."

Fleur looked between the two of them, completely lost since she'd only had 2 lessons with Harry so far, and between that and a bit with AJ she could basically say 'Hello,' 'good-bye,' and 'where's the bathroom' in English. She tapped AJ's shoulder. {{"Are you alright?"}}

AJ quickly reverted to French. {{"I'm sore and tired, and my arm itches like crazy."}}

{{"That's the Skele-Gro,"}} Fleur answered. {{"I'm told it feels like being jabbed with needles while the bones are healing or re-growing, so be glad that it only itches."}}

Fleur left to go get Madame Fiori, leaving mother and son a moment together. "I really am sorry, Mom. I just wanted him to leave Fleur alone; I didn't think he'd actually round up a lynch mob. Even then, I really tried to get away."

Cindy's hand was in his hair as she beheld her older son. "I so want to be mad but I'm just too damned proud of you." His confused expression brought a smile to Cindy's face. "This all happened because you were protecting your friend; I certainly can't get angry at that. You didn't go looking for a fight, and you just said you tried to avoid it." Cindy turned her head in both directions, as if checking for eavesdroppers, before finishing. "And you kicked three older boys' butts."

AJ laughed at that last comment. "Plan Q."

"Works every time," they said together in as deep voices as they could manage, mimicking Jeremiah McClellan's response any time someone brought up his use of Plan Q.

Fleur returned with the healer to find a laughing mother and son, and she couldn't help but smile at seeing her friend on the mend. A few moments of casting spells had the healer declaring that AJ was fit enough to leave the Infirmary, but should take it easy for a few days to allow his body to fully heal.

It was right after Madame Fiori left them that Fleur asked the question that had been on her mind for the last 10 minutes. {{"Antares?"}} she asked.

"Aw crap."

"Antares!" his mother scolded.

"Double crap."

* * *

A/N: With this arc finished up for now, we'll be back to Hogwarts next chapter.

The encounter between AJ and Armand may have seemed excessive, but I kind of intended it that way. I wanted some tension and action, plus I wanted Fleur to transform. Plus, tell me that's any less excessive than giant three-headed dogs.

 _Interdum osse fractum_ came straight from Google translate for "repair broken bone." I was going to use "Brackium Emendo," but A) figured Lockhart was an idiot; B) Brackium I'm assuming comes from brachium, the medical term for the upper arm. It would be weird to use a spell designed for your arm on your ribs.

Beauxbatons has both a full healer (Madame Fiori) and a nurse (Madame Henri). Don't ask me why, or why I think anyone would care.

For those of you curious, The Palace of Versailles is about 721,000 square feet (67,000 square meters). That's about 12.5 American football fields, or 16.5 acres. More than enough space to get lost in for a while. It always seemed Hogwarts was gigantic compared to the number of students attending, and I envisioned Beauxbatons similarly. Additionally it's obvious that, at least in my fanon incarnation of the Potterverse, Beauxbatons accepts foreign students whereas we don't know if Hogwarts does, so it might be even bigger.

I've also taken the stance that, since all Veela are female, any daughter of a Veela is a Veela themselves. Male offspring are beautiful but otherwise just wizards.

As always, thank you for you follows, favorites, views, and reviews.


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